I Don't Need Chakra To Win!
by SuperApplePie
Summary: Travelling the world after saving it, Naruto accidentally manages to transport himself to Fuyuki City. Not only that, but Naruto being Naruto has managed to get himself into an incredibly troublesome situation. Namely the Fifth Holy Grail War. Forced to fight in a war without access to his chakra, Naruto will be forced to use all his wits and skills to survive. Pairings undecided.
1. A Small Accident

_**Author's Note: I changed the beginning a little. Barely, but still, I think it flows a lot smoother like this.**_

* * *

"...It was an accident."

Sakura face-palmed, "God-damnit, Sasuke."

* * *

The world had been saved from Kaguya, Madara, and Obito, and Naruto was praised throughout the Elemental Nations as the hero who saved the world.

He'd even managed to beat that _Teme_ , Sasuke's, ass and convinced him to let go of his stupid revolution crap.

Peace between nations had already been achieved, there really was no point in having a revolution after the _goal_ of the revolution had already been accomplished.

Seriously, it was almost like Sasuke thought that every single resident of the Elemental Nations was a war-hungry maniac.

Anyway, so yeah, peace had been achieved, everything was going along just fine, and there was no doubt that Naruto was going to be the next Hokage!

Only…it turned out that he was too _immature_ or something to be the Hokage at the time and he needed to get wiser before he could put on that awesome hat.

Pffft, whatever.

So, Kakashi, the sixth Hokage, gave him two choices. Travel the world like Sasuke or stay in Village, do missions and gain experience the way shinobi usually did.

At first, the choice was obvious. There was no way in _hell_ he was going to do the same thing that _Sasuke_ did. He could just imagine the smug look on that bastard's face when he found out that he, the great and amazing Uzumaki Naruto, had copied Sasuke of all people.

However, the more he thought about it, the more appealing that option became.

The years spent travelling with Jiraiya had been few of the most fun years he had ever experienced. It's not like he hated the village, on the contrary, he loved it. It's just that he wanted to travel for a while.

So he told his sensei and left to once again travel all around the elemental nations. He made a huge a list of places that he wanted to go to and set off, but within a mere month, inside an ancient Ōtsutsuki shrine, he ran into a familiar face.

* * *

"Huh? Sasuke? Watcha doin' here?" Naruto casually greeted his wayward friend.

"That's my question dumbass. I decided to travel the world remember? Finding me outside of Konoha shouldn't be that surprising. More importantly, are you here for a mission?" Sasuke asked.

"Not really, I also decided to travel the world," Naruto responded.

Contrary to his expectations, Sasuke did not flash him a smug grin, but even then, he could feel that "I am above you, obviously you would follow my footsteps" look coming from Sasuke. Naruto clenched his fists and tensed his muscles to punch Sasuke in the face, but before he could even cock back his fist, Kakashi-sensei's voice rang out in his mind.

 _"Above all, you need to learn patience and discipline, only then can you become Hokage."_

"Dammit," Naruto quietly whispered to himself and relaxed his fists.

Sasuke waited until Naruto was done cycling through multiple different faces and emotions before he waved his hand to gestured at his surroundings and asked, "What are you doing here Naruto? This doesn't seem like your kind of place.

Naruto allowed his eyes to wander around the room, and noticed that entire room was bare, gloomy, and the only visible point of interest was the Ōtsutsuki clan symbol on the wall.

"This does seem _your_ kind of place though. All doom and gloom, not to mention that chakra leaking out from that symbol that feels kind of like your Six Paths chakra," He pointed out.

Sasuke's eye subtly twitched.

Naruto continued, "Anyway! I thought that travelling the world would be fun and stuff, but it turns out that I've already been almost everywhere. It's so boring! I even made a list of all the places I wanted to visit, but it barely took me around half a day to get to all of them."

"How many places were on that list?" Sasuke asked.

"Uhhh, let me check," Naruto rustled through his pockets a bit before he took out a small, folded up piece of paper, "twenty-five," he answered after a few seconds.

Sasuke sighed, "Naruto, travelling the world doesn't mean getting to all your destinations as fast as possible. You don't need to use your Kyuubi chakra mode."

He scowled,

"By the way, that still doesn't answer the question of why you're here."

Naruto frowned and squinted his eyes, "I knew that! I've travelled the world before too, ya know? I spent the next two weeks just walking aimlessly and grew so bored that I used my sage mode to sense if there was anything interesting going on. I sensed the chakra leaking from this symbol and rushed here, I didn't realize _you_ were here too since that chakra is so similar to yours," he paused and sighed, "But it looks like there's nothing here either, it's just a symbol leaking chakra. I'm so bored!"

Sasuke turned towards the symbol and asked Naruto, "And you don't think a symbol leaking chakra is odd?"

Naruto opened an eye, "Of course I think it's weird, but this is the Ōtsutsuki clan we're talking about. Anything that has something to do with them is weird."

He waved his hand as if there was a fly in front of his face,

"Plus, it looks harmless."

The two spent a few beats in silence before Naruto smashed his fist into his palm and let out a megawatt smile,

"I got it! If there's nothing new to explore here, then I'll just go and explore different dimensions! Come on Sasuke! Help me out!"

Sasuke sighed again and glared at Naruto, "No. Travelling through dimensions is too dangerous-

"Aw, come on!" Naruto interrupted, "It'll be fine! Just once? Please? Pleaaaase!"

Sasuke's eyes twitched rapidly while he simultaneously debated the pros and cons of Naruto's plan and ignored his incessant begging.

After a few minutes, Sasuke opened mouth, "Fine. But-and you have to agree to this condition- I will only do this once. Got it? Only. Once. You don't bother me about this ever again. That's the deal, take it or leave it."

Naruto jumped around in excitement, "I knew you'd see it my way, Sasuke! Thanks!"

Sasuke let out a tiny smile at Naruto's enthusiasm before he wiped it away so that the blond wouldn't notice.

He activated his rinnegan and started gathering his chakra,

"Ready?" He asked.

Naruto smirked let out an enthusiastic, "Of course"

Sasuke responded with a smirk of his own and started teleporting Naruto to a relatively close dimension that he could easily access, but unfortunately for the duo, the symbol that they had previously disregarded as harmless, acted up and interfered the with Sasuke's teleportation technique.

Sasuke fought with all his might to shut off his teleportation technique but the intruding chakra simply wouldn't let him,

"Shit! I-I can't stop the technique! Naruto! You have to be careful! I have no idea what dimension you'll end up in. Try your best to find a way back!"

Naruto grimaced before a full-blown smirk overtook his face, "Don't worry Sasuke! I'll be back in no time! I was the one who said I was bored, so who knows? This may end up being fun!"

Sasuke responded with a cynical grin of his own before the technique exploded and sent him tumbling back. He rose to his feet in an instant, in hopes that maybe the technique hadn't worked after all, but when he scanned the room, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

* * *

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**


	2. A Day In The Hospital

**Author's Note: I don't know a lot about the Heaven's Feel route, so don't expect me to put in a lot of elements of that.**

 **Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto nor do I own Fate/Stay Night**

* * *

 **"-TO! –ARUTO! WAKE UP NARUTO!"**

Naruto suddenly shot up from the ground with a gasp.

"Wh-what…happened?" He asked.

He turned his head and came face to face with his life-long partner.

Kurama, realizing that Naruto was fully awake brought its head back and sat on the ground with his hind legs crossed.

Naruto, on the other hand, stood up and looked around in confusion, "I'm… in my mindscape?"

 **"What do you think? No place is fouler than your mind, so you should have no trouble recognizing it."**

Naruto stood there blankly for a few seconds before he took in Kurama's words and yelled in indignation, "Oi! My mind is not foul!"

Kurama nodded his head patronizingly, **"Of course it isn't."**

Naruto nodded in satisfaction, "Glad you understand."

"Now tell me what happened, Kurama. The last thing I remember is me being pulled into another world and then… darkness. There's nothing after that."

Kurama narrowed his eyes and started explaining, **"The first place we ended up in after teleporting was in a giant fire."** He sighed, **"If I wasn't stuck in you, I could be having so much fun crushing these puny humans right now. I haven't done that in so long!"**

Naruto coughed into his hand, "Focus, Kurama."

Kurama sighed again and continued, **"Right, right. After landing in that giant fire, I thought that you would start saving as many people as soon as possible.** **However _,_** **when you failed to respond to all the fire and dying people around you, I thought that you had finally lost the last shred of intelligence that you had left in you."**

"Oi!"

 **"Anyway, when I took a closer look, it turns out that your mind had been reverted to that of a seven-year old's. Not only that, but at the time your previous experiences and memories had been stored away, so all you could basically do at the time was walk around and die like an idiot. Lucky for you, I was there to save your scrawny ass."**

Naruto let out a confused expression, "Huh? What do you mean?"

Kurama face-palmed, **"I mean that since you clearly couldn't control your body, I took control and helped you survive until someone came to save you."**

Naruto let his bangs shadow his eyes and asked in a quiet voice, "Wha-what about the rest of the people there?" He raised his head to look at the fox, "Did you save them?"

The two spent a few beats staring at each other in silence before Kurama broke the tense silence,

 **"There was nothing I could have done. I-**

"Don't make excuses Kurama! DON' T GIVE ME BULLSHI-

 **"CALM DOWN NARUTO! The reason I couldn't save those pathetic meat-bags was because of you! Look at yourself! Your brain wasn't the only thing that reverted back to a child-like state!"**

Naruto looked down at himself and finally noticed something odd. Where there should've been a 17-year-old muscular body, there was a small body of a seven-year-old child.

"Wh-WHAT!? WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!?"

Kurama roared with laughter, " **HAHAHAHAHAH!"** He slapped his leg with a resounding boom, **"Oh my god! This is priceless! The vanquisher of Kaguya and savior of the Elemental Nations, reduced to a little child throwing a tantrum!"**

"I wasn't throwing a tantrum!" Naruto defended.

 **"I beg to differ."**

Naruto shot the giant fox a nasty glare that didn't quite have the effect he was hoping for due to his child-like body.

 **"Continuing on, even I don't know where you are right now, all I know is that- hey! Are you even listening, you dumb brat!?"**

"Ahhh, I'm screwed," Naruto groaned, "I'm sooo screwed! What do I do? It's gonna take me twice as long to make it to Hokage now. What to do, what to do? Plus, this is kind of creepy. I'm physically seven but mentally seventeen. Sakura's gonna kill me."

 **"Oi, brat,"** Kurama tried,

"I mean, she always hits me when I do stupid things, but this is stupidity multiplied by, like, a million."

 **"Brat,"** Kurama tried again.

"And I can't even blame Sasuke since he was the one who kept on rambling about how 'it's not saaaafe'. Ahhh, why did things turn out this way? I should've-"

 **"BRAT! Good, you're finally listening. First of all, you're both mentally** ** _and_** **physically seven years old. Your brain has also regressed to that age. Why do you think you had that giant tantrum just now? Although considering the fact that you're… you, I guess the fact that you acting like a child isn't really that out of character."**

Naruto would have retorted, but he was too confused to do so, "Huh?"

Kurama sighed once again, **"That. That's what I mean. While you were dumb when you were older, you would have still understood that. That's what I mean by mentally seven years old. Once again your brain hasn't been fully developed, meaning, that you're sorely lacking in things like attention span and information retention right now. It would be more accurate to call you a seven-year-old with the experience of a seventeen-year-old."**

Naruto scrunched up his face even more, "I still don't get it."

 **"Basically you're gonna go through stuff like puberty again," Kurama simplified.**

Naruto made a face of horrified realization and yelled in dismay, "NOOOOOOOOOOO! WHYYYYYYYYY? I never should've asked that bastard to send me here! WHY, WHY DID I MAKE SUCH A STUPID MISTAKE?"

 **"Don't worry,"** Kurama calmed him, **"I'm sure that Uchiha bastard and the rest of your puny village are probably trying to find a way to get you back right now. For now, just wake up and explore this new world. You were bored right?"**

Naruto face suddenly broke out in an enthusiastic grin, "Right! Let's see just what kinda world the great and amazing Uzumaki Naruto has arrived in," with that Naruto once again closed his eyes and willed himself to consciousness.

* * *

Naruto slowly cracked open his eyes and took in the clean white ceiling above him.

 _'Where...?'_

At that exact moment his nose decided to do its job and gave him an answer.

Antiseptics.

Which meant, the hospital.

 _'How did I-'_ Naruto started asking himself before his conversation with Kurama came rushing back to him.

…

He put his arm over his eyes and whispered to himself,

"Dammit, we messed up really badly this time,"

A gentle voice interrupted his quiet lament,

"Hello child. My name is doctor Mayers." Naruto uncovered his eyes, sat up, and looked towards where the voice came from. At his left sat a middle-aged, brow-haired woman in a white doctor's coat.

"Are you talking to me?" He asked hesitantly.

Dr. Mayers chuckled, "Who else do you think I was talking to?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and let out a sheepish chuckle, "Ahh sorry, my name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. Also, I don't really recognize this place. Where am I and… what happened?"

The doctor sighed sadly and looked at Naruto with slightly moist eyes, "Oh you poor child. To suffer from such a tragedy at such a young age,"

The doctor thought about the incident for a moment and then continued,

"No one actually knows what happened. All we know is that a fire just spontaneously appeared in the dead of the night and before we knew it, the fire had spread far beyond anyone's control. You... you were the only survivor."

Naruto closed his eyes in silent prayer for the dead before he quietly replied,

"I see."

The two spent a few minutes in silence before Dr. Mayers spoke up once again,

"Naruto-kun, we gave you a full-body check-up and made sure to help you recover in any way possible- and let me tell you, you recovered abnormally fast-, but please try moving and tell me whether it hurts anywhere."

Naruto grinned, hopped off his bed, and did a little dance, "Heh! I feel perfectly fine! I-"

Suddenly he froze and thought to himself, _'No, there's something wrong. Something's… missing, but what is it? Everything feels fine…except…for my chakra,'_ he sat on the ground in a lotus position and tried to force his near-unlimited supply of chakra to the surface, _'No way! I can't use even a little bit no matter how hard I try!'_

Dr. Mayers knelt to inspect the blond boy and asked hurriedly, "What's wrong? Does it hurt anywhere?"

The blond let out a nervous smile and assuaged her fears, "It's just-I can feel my chakra but I can't utilize it no matter what."

Dr. Mayers raised a brow, "Your chakra?" She asked.

 ** _'You Dumbass!'_** Kurama's voice rang out in his head like a particularly loud gong. **_'Give me control, I'll handle this!'_** he said.

Naruto tried to let up his control to give Kurama free reign but no matter hard they both tried, _it just would not happen!_

 _'What the hell is going on, Kurama!?'_ Naruto internally panicked.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay? What's going on?" Dr. Mayers asked.

Kurama quickly analyzed the situation and gave him instructions, **"Naruto, for now just tell her that nothing's wrong. I'll tell you everything later."**

Naruto didn't verbally acknowledge Kurama but when Dr. Mayers once again asked whether or not he was alright, he made sure to follow the tailed beast's instructions,

"I'm fine Dr. Mayers, it's just that- I'm really surprised that I'm not injured at all!"

Dr. Mayers' expression turned even more confused, "And what was that "chakra" thing about?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head and let out a nervous laugh," Chakra! Right! That was- uhhh – something I saw in my dream! I accidently confused that with the real world!"

The worried doctor let herself relax and let out a sigh of relief, "Heh, I'm glad you're having such nice dreams, but enough of that now, you should get some more rest; your body was actually in a pretty bad condition you know."

Naruto jumped back on top of his bed and gave her a large smile, "Yes ma'am!"

And with that he closed his eyes and once again entered his mindscape.

Inside his mindscape, Naruto lost all traces of the smile he previously had and turned towards Kurama's giant form, "What the hell is happening, Kurama?"

The massive tailed beast frowned, **"It seems that this world doesn't know what chakra is."**

Naruto let out an indignant snort, "I know that! What I'm asking about is _my_ chakra. What happened? In fact, now that I think about it, even if my body was that of a seven-year-old's, if you could use my chakra then you could've gotten me out of that fire in an instant. So why didn't you? Or could it be that you _couldn't_ use chakra?"

The fox rubbed his chin for a while, then explained, " **When I took control of your body, the first thing I tried was using my chakra to get away as fast as possible. The problem though, was that I couldn't. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't use your chakra nor could I use mine. Not only that, but the longer I stayed in control of your body, the more it rejected and fought me,"**

He narrowed his ruby eyes,

 **"I didn't think that the rejection would be permanent. We both still have all our chakra, but for some reason, we just can't use it. That's also the reason we're not dead from the lack of chakra."**

Naruto plopped down on the floor and scrunched up his face, "Do you have any _other_ super important things you haven't told me yet?"

 **"Yes, actually,"**

"Really!?"

Kurama touched the surface of the water with the tip of his finger in front of Naruto and the ripples that formed gave way to the form of a shady man with black hair with a black trench coat.

Naruto looked at the picture in confusion, before he turned his head back towards Kurama and raised a brow, hoping for an explanation.

 **"This is the man who saved you. Hold on, I'll show you the memory."**

Kurama once again touched the surface of the water with the tip of his finger and once again, as soon as the ripples cleared, the water reflected a picture. However, this time a burning landscape appeared instead of a shady man.

 **"Get comfortable and watch."**

Suddenly the flames in the picture started crackling erratically, and with a thud, the view jerked violently as if the person holding the camera dropped it or collapsed. Thankfully the place that they fell in was devoid of fire.

There was no doubt though, that in time, the flames would reach that place as well.

For a few minutes, fire roared all around them and all they could see was the orange glow of the flames and the starry sky. The orange glow kept getting brighter and brighter, but before it could reach them, the same shady man in black filled up their field of vision and gasped in surprise and happiness,

"You're alive. You're alive! Thank you! Thank you! I'm so gl-

Before they could keep hearing the shady man continue thanking him again, the scene turned black and then back into clear water.

 **"At this point your body lost consciousness, and… to be honest I was barely able to keep you alive at that point and if it wasn't for _that,_ you would be…" **

Kurama pointed at a blindingly bright golden sheath that were adorned with extravagant engravings and designs.

"what… is that?" Naruto asked.

 **"At first I thought it was a sheath of some sort, but the more I examined it, the more I realized that in addition to it being a sheath, it's also some kind of powerful item that has a healing ability on par with mine. There might be more functions to it, but on the whole, healing you is the only effect it has had on you."**

Naruto tried to digest all that, but it took him several minutes before he finally managed to completely comprehend Kurama's explanation.

Working with a seven-year-old brain sucked.

So this Sheath had saved him from death because it had amazing healing powers, huh. Having something like this would probably make his life much easier, and combine that with Kurama's own healing power…

"Oi Kurama! Does this mean that your healing power and that sheath's healing power can combine and give me some kind of unlimited healing power? That would be sooo awesome! I'm right, right?" Naruto shot up and asked excitedly.

Kurama, however, did not share Naruto's enthusiasm, **"Naruto, it's the complete opposite. That sheath has already run out of power and my chakra can barely affect you at the moment. This means that you'll _barely_ have a higher than average healing rate because of my power."**

Well that sucked.

Ahhh, whatever!

Even without chakra he was still a badass warrior that could beat anyone! He didn't need any special abilities to do it!

Still, it would have been nice to have _some_ kind of special power to help him out.

 **"Ah!"** Kurama suddenly perked up,

" **Because that sheath was inserted in you, you gained some kind of new network for a different power source."**

Naruto shot back up, "Really!?"

Kurama nodded before continuing, **"However even if you have the network, there's no way for you to use that new power, simply because it's stuck in the same situation as your chakra network."**

Naruto sunk back down to the ground, "Damn it Kurama! Stop playing with my emotions!"

This meant that all had to rely on were his mind and physical strength. He had to hone those so that he could…so that he could do what? Was it even necessary to know how to fight in this world? Did this world even allow fighting? Plus, he knew that Sasuke and the others were trying to find a way to get him back, but he wanted to help out too.

Without chakra or any source of power that could allow him to travel dimensions, his desire to help was useless.

Wait!

What if travelling dimensions was commonplace in this world?

Arghhh! Thinking about this stuff would get him nowhere. He needed to first gather some information, and the first step to that was to regain consciousness.

* * *

Waking up on the hospital bed was mildly uncomfortable as he was still sleepy and bleary, but he had a goal in mind so he really didn't have time to entertain such thoughts.

Actually… maybe sleeping in just five more minutes wouldn't be such a huge problem.

"Naruto-kun!"

Clearly, Dr. Mayers disagreed.

"You woke up just in time Naruto-kun; the man who saved you is here to see you," she said in a cheerful voice.

Eh? That incredibly shady guy had come to visit him? Why?

Well that guy did look pretty happy that he managed to save a child, so maybe he deserved a chance to improve his image.

The black haired man walked in and his first words were, "I'm here to ask you a question. Would you rather be sent off to an orphanage or would you like to be adopted by a man you just met?"

What the hell? That was way too creepy! He knew that the shady guy would be no good!

Seriousl- huh?

Why… why did this guy seem so… broken?

 _'Oi, oi, if you look at me like that, there's no way I can refuse you,"_ he thought.

 ** _'Always a sucker for sob stories huh?'_** Kurama remarked.

 _'shut up,'_ the blond shot back.

He sighed and finally made his decision, "I'll go with you."

Orphanages sucked anyway.

"Right, I should probably say this now. I'm… a mage."

"What the hell is that?"

 ** _'I dunno, sounds tasty though.'_**


	3. Bonds In Another World

Disclaimer **– I don't own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**

* * *

"You have the circuits, but there's absolutely no way for you to use any magic, ever."

"Damnit, Kiritsugu, you could have said that in a more hopeful way!"

"All I said was the truth, Naruto."

Naruto sighed,

"Ever? Like, not even if I try all my life?"

"Never."

* * *

"OIIIII! Naruto, wake up! It's almost time for school and you're still sleeping?"

Damn it, why did Fuji-nee have to be so loud? Didn't she know that sleep was vital to the human body?

"And don't even try to give me that excuse of sleep being vital to the human body! You slept at, like, seven last night!" Fuji-nee's voice rang out from the living room again.

Tch, well that excuse just became useless.

 _'Still! I refuse to wake up no matter what!'_

"Come on, hurry up! Sakura even made some ramen for you!"

Change of plans.

"I'll be right there Fuji-nee!"

* * *

"Sakura, marry me."

"Eeeeh?"

Naruto slammed his empty bowl on the table,

"This is the second-best ramen I have ever tasted!"

Sakura looked downcast, "Only second-best?"

Fuji-nee took her chance and jumped into the conversation,

"You really shouldn't be eating that for breakfast though. Don't you know it's unhealthy, especially in the amounts you eat it in?"

 **"She's right you know?"** Kurama agreed, " **With most of my healing factor gone, large amounts of ramen is actually harmful for your body.**

Naruto slumped to the floor,

"Why? I love ramen and ramen loves me. So why is it that we can't be together?

Tears streamed down his face.

Fuji-nee, on the other hand, gave a bright smile and clapped her hands together,

"Well the food was good and making _ittle-wittle_ Naruto cry was even better, but I've got tests to grade so I'll be going now!"

Naruto watched her speed off and sighed,

"What's with her? Why's she so mean?"

Sakura too brushed off her gloom,

"Don't say that, Senpai. Fujimura-sensei had to actually leave much earlier to grade her tests, but she stayed behind and kept trying to wake you up because she was worried that you might oversleep and miss school."

Naruto watched her as she gathered the plates and walked through the flap separating the kitchen.

"Thanks for helping out, Sakura"

She turned on the tap and started cleaning the dishes,

"It was my pleasure, Senpai."

"Hm," Naruto responded.

He spent a few minutes in silence, watching her work until Kurama decided to ask a question,

 ** _'Whatcha lookin' at?'_**

 _'Sakura, why?'_ Naruto answered

 ** _'Hehe, I knew you that your perverted tendencies would resurface some day! I'm so proud of you, brat!'_**

 _'Shut up Kurama! I was just watching her work!'_

 ** _'Riiiiight, sure. Anyway, come in your mindscape as soon as you have the time, there's something important I have to tell you.'_**

 _'Can't you just tell me now?'_

 ** _'No. This is big and I need make sure you have no distractions nearby.'_**

 _'Gotcha, math class, then."_

Sakura put the last plate on the drying rack and turned off the tap,

"Let's go, Senpai."

"Yeah."

* * *

Homurahara Academy was a school that required all students to wear their uniforms properly and did not tolerate students who did not wear them. As such, Naruto too, was forced to wear the drab brown uniform, although he did unbutton it as much as the school would allow(three buttons). Underneath the uniform, he wore a plain black shirt and below that he wore brown school pants along with grey sneakers.

Stupid teachers calling his awesome orange shirts too eyecatching. I mean- they let that one girl with the flashy red jacket do what she wanted. What was up with that? When he asked, they told him that she was one of the best students in the school, so she was allowed certain privileges.

Talk about unfair.

As the two walked through the gate, Sakura asked a question,

"Senpai, can I ask you something?"

Naruto looked at her, confused,

"Sure."

"Why did you quit the archery club, Senpai? I mean I know when you started, you were incredibly bad, but as time went on, you practiced and practiced and got to the point where could hit all the targets in record speed! You tried so hard and then… you just quit. Why?"

Naruto looked at her with a wise and serene smile, but was panicking on the inside.

 **Kurama roared with laughter, "Go on, tell the girl who looks up to you that you quit the club you worked so hard in because of some _ramen_."**

 _'It's much more complicated than that!'_ Naruto retorted

 ** _'Is it? It's literally that customers who order on that time, in that restaurant, receive a massive discount on ramen.'_**

"Sakura, a man must pursue his passions and sometimes pursuing one passion means not pursuing another," he sagely nodded and explained.

 ** _'Don't look so smug! All you did was rip off Kiritsugu's "saving one person means not saving another" speech!'_**

 _'Shhhhh, look at her shining eyes of admiration.'_

 ** _'I'm surprised you even know what "admiration" means,'_** Kurama muttered.

"I-I see Senpai," Sakura said with sparkling eyes,

"You're so wise in the ways of the world!" she continued.

Naruto rubbed his imaginary beard,

"I know."

Sakura bowed her head a little,

"I'll be going now, Senpai."

The blond waved his hand as she ran off,

"Yeah, see you at dinner."

Only, now it meant that he was all alone and had nothing to do.

He couldn't even go to the archery club after giving that cool speech of his.

Damnit.

The only reason he even came to school this early was because Sakura had club activities and since she made breakfast, he wanted to do something for her too.

Well, Kurama had something important to tell him, and he had nothing to do. Going to homeroom and hearing Kurama out was probably the best course of action to take right now.

* * *

"Yo, Issei," Naruto called out to his long-time friend.

"Ah, Naruto, you made it to class too early," Issei noted.

"Yeah Sakura had club activities today and I decided to leave with her," Naruto explained.

"Well I would love to stay and chat, but as the Student Council president, I have to make sure to inspect all the clubs and their activities. I'll see you later in homeroom," Issei said.

"Sure."

Issei stood up from his desk and walked out the door, giving the whiskered teen a small wave as he passed him.

Naruto watched Issei walk off for a bit before he sat down in his designated seat and put his head on the table. He closed his eyes and materialized himself inside his mindscape.

"So? What's this super important thing that you wanted me to know?" He asked impatiently.

 **"There's something big going on, Naruto,"** Kurama's voice boomed.

Said blond cleaned his ear uncaringly, "How do you figure that?"

 **"A few days ago, I felt a giant spike of negative emotions. A few minutes later, those very same negative emotions spread out and covered the entirety of Fuyuki. They haven't disappeared since."**

Naruto grimaced, "Sounds bad, but I can't sense magic and you can only sense where it's coming from, not what it's doing, so we can't do anything for now. Rushing blindly inside an entire city, searching for anything or anyone "suspicious" won't get us any results."

 **"We don't need to search for anything, I'm just telling you to be on your guard since trouble always manages to find you somehow."**

"You want your ass kicked again? I can arrange that for you y'know?"

Kurama grinned, **"How do you propose to do that without your chakra? Do you intend to stare me to submission? Maybe cry me into submission? Plus, even with your chakra, you stand no chance against me."**

Naruto's eye twitched rapidly,

"You bastard! I could totally take you down, even without my chakra!"

Kurama gave a patronizing nod,

 **"Suuuuure you could."**

Naruto clenched his fists, but before he could do anything, Kurama abruptly started talking again,

 **"Anyway, be careful Naruto. All these negative emotions are blocking my senses. For now, the only time I can sense negative emotions are when you're in close proximity with the target."**

Naruto thought about the fox's revelation for a while,

"That means that there's no way for me to tell whether someone's gonna try and kill me from the shadows, huh?"

 **"Yeah, the situation's bad, so don't let your guard down,"** Kurama warned.

Naruto slowly nodded then willed himself back to consciousness.

"Ah you're up! I was just about to wake you," Issei's voice called out from behind him.

"Really? What time is it?" Naruto asked, yawning.

"Almost time for Homeroom to start," Issei answered.

Naruto sighed, "Won't be long before Fuji-nee comes barreling in."

He stretched his limbs a little, which produced a bunch of satisfying cracking sounds,

"Well whatever. Let's get this day over with."

* * *

Kiritsugu and a twelve-year-old Naruto sat side-by-side on their porch and admired the shining full moon.

"You know, Naruto, when I was a kid, I wanted to be a superhero," Kiritsugu said.

Naruto was confused, "A superhero? Like what- you wanted powers or something? Cool entrances? A cape? … Background music?"

Kiritsugu chuckled, "No, none of that…okay maybe a few of those things but that wasn't what I was talking about. By superhero, I meant I wanted to save everyone in the world."

"Everyone in the world? You said used to, did you give up?" Naruto asked.

"Yes. I got older and realized it was impossible to accomplish this dream of mine," Kiritsugu explained.

Naruto raised a brow, "Did you at least try?"

Kiritsugu flashed a bitter smile, "Yeah. I tried my best to fix this world's problems. I tried my best to fix humanity's nature and their desire to kill each other, but… in the end… all I managed to do is hurt a lot of people."

Naruto let out a laugh, "Heh. _Fix_ humanity? Is that what you were intending to do? Remove what makes us human? And what? Were you planning on changing every human yourself? To remove all the bad traits from a human means changing the person into something other than a human, Y'know."

He paused for a second,

"And who knows? Maybe that's a good thing? Change doesn't always have to be bad. The problem, on the other hand, is that we're stuck with this. A species full of flaws and imperfections."

A small smile lit up his face, "I don't hate it though. Being a human isn't so bad. Having flaws and Imperfections isn't so bad. Although, if you don't like it, then instead of trying to change them yourself, make them _want_ to change."

He reclined backwards,

"Of course there will always be bad people who simply kill out of pleasure or let their lust get the better of them. That doesn't mean the entirety of the human race is bad. Tragedies happen and they will continue to happen, the best we can do is inspire people to limit these tragedies.

He looked at Kiritsugu with shining eyes, "Have some faith in humanity. Sometimes just having faith is enough."

The black haired man closed his eyes and pondered over his adopted son's words,

"That's a very naïve point of view."

Naruto shrugged, "What's wrong with being naïve? If everyone in the world were naïve, if everyone in the world had faith in each other, then the world be a much better place, Don't you think?"

Kiritsugu looked at the blonde child, "It would be, but this world is cruel. People _don't_ have faith in on another. The naïve ones would be crushed instantly."

Naruto raised his arm towards the moon and clasped his fist, "Perhaps, but that's why I said what I said. If this world is cruel, if this is the kind of world where people don't have faith in one another, then _inspire_ them to. Inspire them to better themselves and the world. It might take generations and generations and we'll probably _never_ reach perfection, but I think that's perfectly fine."

"Why?"

Naruto looked at Kiritsugu in the eyes and gave him a bright, toothy smile,

"Because we're human."

* * *

"Naruto, NARUTO!"

Said boy blankly stared ahead before jolting,

"H-huh? Fuji-nee?"

"What were you doing, just staring at the front door?"

Naruto let out a sheepish smile and rubbed the back of his head,

"Ah, I was just reminiscing."

 _'Did I really just waste the whole day reminiscing?'_

 ** _'I just said to not let down your guard, and what do you do? Space out five seconds after my warning! Damnit Naruto! I'm serious! Don't let down your guard like that again!'_** Kurama reprimanded.

 _'Ah, sorry.'_

Fuji-nee broke up his mental conversation,

"Reminiscing? What about?"

Naruto stayed silent for a few seconds,

"…About Kiritsugu."

Fuji-nee looked surprised for a moment before she gave him a comforting smile,

"I see."

She put her hands on his back and pushed him inside,

"Don't stand out here in the cold. Let's go inside, you need to start preparing dinner,"

She said in a peppy voice, drawing out the word "dinner".

Naruto couldn't help but let out a content smile.

This was a strange world full of things he had never seen. He'd lost a lot of his abilities and he'd been stranded away from his home for a long time now, but in return he'd gained a new family member.

She was loud, annoying, infuriating, mean, a slacker, and always leeched off of him,

but…

for some reason she had still managed to find a way straight to his heart. While he'd been wary of everything and everyone in this new, foreign land, this girl had managed to bypass all his meagre defenses and made herself at home at his very core.

"Sheesh, this woman…" he whispered under his breath as they went through the door.

"Hm? What'd you say?" Fuji-nee asked curiously.

He flashed her a bright grin, "Nothing."

He paused for a second,

"Wait _I_ need to start preparing dinner? Why?"

* * *

The next morning it was the same routine, minus the "waking up almost late" part.

Waking up early allowed Naruto to complete his everyday workout. He'd forgotten to do it yesterday but he couldn't afford to slack of today too. His physical and mental abilities were the only weapons left in his arsenal, and not only that, but apparently there was something huge going on. And he knew, that if something huge was going on, then there was no doubt that he too would somehow get involved in it. Even if he tried his best to stay out of it.

He really had no luck in these matters.

Well, whatever. All had to do now was prepare, he would deal with the rest later.

With that thought, he walked into the living room and helped set up the table before he sat down himself.

"Here you go, Senpai," Sakura set down the food with a polite smile.

"Thanks," Naruto politely replied before asking,

"By the way, where's Fuji-nee? I didn't think she had it in her to skip breakfast."

"Ah, that. She said that she had a lot of work to finish so she couldn't stay behind and eat."

Sakura too sat down and picked up her chopsticks,

"By the way, Senpai. She seemed a little angry at you today. Do you have any idea why?"

Naruto jolted and let out a sheepish smile,

"Ahh, that was my fault. During dinner she found out that I didn't pay attention in her class and completely missed her warnings about how dangerous it is to stay out late these days."

Sakura smiled and sighed at the same time,

"You really shouldn't do that, Senpai. You have to pay attention in your classes or you won't be successful in the future."

His smile turned melancholic,

"Yeah, you're right."

To be honest, that statement hit way too close to home. Mainly, it made him ask the question, what would he do when he found the way back home? This was a completely different world and he wasn't even sure he could find it again.

When he left... he would have to say goodbye to all his friends and family forever. Sakura had a family here and she and Fuji-nee had built their entire lives here. It would be cruel for him to force them to abandon all that.

He…didn't want to say goodbye though. He wanted to live with these guys till the end of his days. Why did he have to choose? Why couldn't he just live with both his families and introduce them to one another.

Fate really was cruel.

...

No.

NO!

Fate? He'd already denounced crap like that long ago! When he was twelve years old, he was much wiser than now. It didn't matter if something seemed impossible, he was Uzumaki (Emiya) Naruto! The "Number One Most Unpredictable Ninja", and he would find a way, damn it! It might take a long time, but he would find a way!

It was a promise!

And Uzumaki (Emiya) Naruto, never broke promises!

* * *

 **Author's Note - I know Sakura isn't really happy with her family, but Naruto doesn't know that.**


	4. A Night Full Of Weirdness

**Disclaimer - I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**

* * *

"Senpai, I'm sorry but I won't be able to help with dinner for a while after tonight. Is that okay?" Sakura asked politely as she locked the front door behind her.

Naruto grinned happily, "Finally!" he exclaimed, "I was seriously worried that you had no one else to hang out with, but it looks like you're doing just fine!"

Sakura furiously shook her head, "it's not like that, Senpai!" She denied vehemently, "It's just that I have some personal business to attend to!"

She then proceeded to look at the ground and blushed, "So I would appreciate it if you didn't get the wrong idea," she iterated shyly.

Naruto looked taken aback,

"R-right. Sorry for assuming."

Sakura turned her head back towards Naruto and nodded before noticing something, "Senpai, your hand!"

Naruto raised his hand to look at it while Sakura leaned in closer to do the same. There, on his hand was a weird, faded, and red mark that Naruto was sure wasn't on his hand the night before.

"What is this?" He wondered, "Did I scratch myself or something?"

He tried to recall an incident where he hurt himself but couldn't.

Sakura, on the other hand, kept worriedly staring at his hand and was about to offer him a bandage but before she could, Naruto gave her a reassuring grin and said,

"Don't worry about it. It doesn't hurt so it should fade away soon."

Sakura hesitantly nodded, still a little unconvinced, but after taking another look at the blonde's grinning face, she let her suspicions disappear,

"If you say so, Senpai."

With that, she turned around to head to school. Naruto watched her and as soon as she faced her back to him, his cerulean eyes narrowed dangerously and his bright grin morphed into a grim frown. Sakura started speaking to him about various topics again but he ignored her.

It wasn't as if he wanted to, but this matter with the red mark was a whole lot more important.

 _'Kurama, did I hurt myself when I was spaced out?'_ He asked analytically.

Kurama was quick to respond, **_'No. Not even once.'_**

Naruto silently trailed behind Sakura as Kurama continued,

 ** _'Although, I do sense a tiny amount of magic coming from that mark.'_**

Naruto mulled over Kurama's words for a few minutes and flashed Sakura a bright grin in between when she looked back at him. She turned around to face forward again and his grin too, vanished once again.

 _'This can't be a coincidence,'_ he said to Kurama after a while, _'a massive amount of magic energy pops out of nowhere and suddenly I have a mark on my hand containing magic energy for no reason? There's no way that these two events aren't related.'_

His frown deepened, _'The only question is, 'what'?'_

He shook his head a little,

' _No. That's wrong. That's not the only question. The only thing I've pieced out is that these two events are related. Other than that, I have nothing. For instance, why is this happening in the first place? Is it focused on me, or does this involve a group? Is this a plot to kill me or is it something else? There's too many possibilities! I just can't figure out!'_

He clenched his fists tightly and narrowed his eyes even more, to the point where he was glaring,

 _'To make matters worse, I have absolutely no way of finding any information. Information that I need. Damn it! If only I had my shadow clones, then I could easily search for and find everything in record time. But… I don't have my chakra, which means that searching an entire city alone for something that most people don't even know about, is the most idiotic decision I can make._ _Especially_ _since I seem to be involved and don't even have Kurama's negative emotion sensing to aid me.'_

Kurama interrupted Naruto's dissection of the situation to offer some advice,

 ** _'Naruto, at this point you can't do anything. Right now, all you need to do is keep living life as you always have and keep your guard up. You're involved in this now - whatever it is. That means that something or someone is almost definitely going to come to or for you. That's why, it'd be best if you remained on your guard till that mark disappears.'_**

Kurama paused for a second as he thought about something and then continued,

 ** _'You can sleep at night. I'll remain awake while you're asleep. Don't forget though, I can't possess your body anymore. You'll have to sleep light; I'll wake you up if anything abnormal appears.'_**

Naruto relaxed and let out a weary smile,

 _'Yeah, I'll have to be careful for an unknown amount of time but this is all that we can do. Thanks, Kurama.'_

He could just feel the giant fox's cocky grin,

 _ **'Of course. Someone has to do the thinking around here.'**_

 _'Shut up.'_

* * *

School had ended and the sun was setting, bathing the whole campus in a red glow. Naruto and Issei were standing and talking in the empty hallway, just about getting ready to leave before the sun fully set.

"I honestly thought I would have to hold you back from trying to hurt Shinji again when he insulted you yesterday, but I didn't know that you had acquired so much patience. To completely ignore his taunts? If I hadn't seen it personally and someone had told me that _you_ had done something like that, then I would have laughed in their face. I'm really surprised and glad, Naruto."

Naruto whipped his head towards his friend and scowled,

"That guy insulted me? What'd he say? Actually don't tell me, just tell me where to find him. I need to introduce his face to the ground!" He raged.

Issei sighed in disappointment and disbelief, "Of course. I shouldn't have expected anything less. The only reason you dealt with his insults so calmly was because you just weren't paying attention."

Naruto dropped his scowl and laughed sheepishly,

"Hahahaha, yeah. I didn't pay attention to anything the entire day yesterday. That was my bad."

Issei sighed again before he looked out the window,

"Ah. It seems we got too caught up in talking. We better leave before the sun sets," he warned.

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go," Naruto agreed.

Issei shook his head, "I'm sorry, but I still have a few matters that I have to deal with. You go on ahead. It'll take some time before I'm free."

Naruto let out an impressed whistle, "Wow. The Student Council President sure has a lot to do."

Issei chuckled slightly, "Exactly," he confirmed, "Get home safe, Naruto. Don't lollygag or wander, ok?"

Naruto walked down the stairs and waved behind him, "Yeah, yeah. See ya, Issei."

He walked down two flights before he heard a voice and some laughter.

 _'That sounded like…Shinji,'_ Naruto thought to himself.

* * *

Shinji was entertaining the two girls beside him and would have continued doing that if it wasn't for that blonde pseudo-friend of his who was standing there as if he was expecting him.

"What? You're still here, Emiya?" He asked, smirking.

Naruto growled, "Oi, Shinji. I heard you were talking shit about me yesterday. If you want your ass kicked just say so!" He finished with a yell.

The two girls beside Shinji took a few steps back from the confrontation as Shinji's smirk grew in size, "Of course it took you one whole day to respond to my comment, Emiya. I should have expected nothing less."

His brought up his hands in mock exasperation, "Truly, your stupidity has no equal."

Naruto clenched his fists and barely restrained the urge to pummel the purple haired boy.

Honestly, Shinji had absolutely no idea why they were friends. Naruto just had this weird personality that brought people he interacted with to his side. He himself had been roped in when they were in middle school. Anyone who had tried to do something bad to the blonde had found themselves shunned by all their peers and any rumors started about him were shut down instantly.

All because of him.

To be honest, Naruto's personality and charisma made him jealous. If Naruto actually tried, then he could probably become the most popular guy in the school.

All he had to do was talk to a few people and he'd be set.

but…for some reason…Naruto was always stuck in his own world. It was as if he didn't care whether he passed or failed, nor did he care much about anything else - except for the archery club (and that was only because he had challenged Naruto and said that he would never be able to hit a bullseye ten times in a row).

It wasn't like he hated everyone, on the contrary, he would greet anyone who came up to talk to him with a bright grin, and a few minutes later it was almost like you were childhood friends or something. It's just…it was as if the only reason he was in class was because it was mandatory, not because it would help his future or anything, as if he was aiming for something that this place simply could not help him with.

Well, whatever. It wasn't like thinking about this would lead to anything. All he had to do right now, was get rid of the easily aggravated blond and go to the store with the girls.

Shinji smirk turned incredibly devious, "Naruto, Fujimura-sensei told me to tell you to clean the archery club dojo."

Naruto made a face of confusion, "Eh? Why?"

Shinji gave a sharp glare to the girl who was about to say something before he gave his pseudo-friend a relaxed grin, "I don't know, something about punishment for quitting the club, I think?"

He put a hand on the whiskered teen's shoulder, "You should probably hurry up though. Don't want to be late for dinner, do you?"

Naruto looked out the window before he ran down the stairs in panic, "I'll kick your ass later, Shinji! I gotta hurry up and clean the dojo for that damn Taiga!" He yelled behind him.

Heh. What a naïve guy. With the work Taiga gave him taken care of, the only thing he had left to do now, was enjoy his time with the girls.

There was no doubt about it.

He really was amazingly smart.

* * *

By the time he finished cleaning the dojo, Night had fallen and the moon was hanging high up in the sky.

After putting all the supplies back and smoothening out his clothes, Naruto stretched his arms until he heard a satisfying 'crack'.

 ** _'Naruto…you know that purple-haired womanizer was lying to you, right?'_** Kurama asked.

Naruto froze, _'What! He was?'_ He exclaimed.

Kurama let out a giant sigh and face-palmed, **_'I can't believe you fell for that. Why are you even friends with him?'_**

Naruto puzzled over the question for a second before he answered.

 _'He wasn't like this before y'know? He was still arrogant, yes, but he used to be a lot nicer. Now though…I don't know what happened to him, but now he's…this. I wanna help him before I lea-'_

He halted his explanation as soon as he heard the distinct sound of metal clashing against metal.

 _'What? I thought people only used melee weapons against one another in official competitions in this world,'_ The blonde thought to himself.

 **'** ** _Are you going to go check it out?'_** Kurama asked cautiously.

Naruto considered his options for a second,

 _"Yeah, the timing's way too weird. I have to check it out; it may be my only way to gain some more info on the situation."_

 ** _'Then be careful,'_** Kurama warned, **_'You have nothing in your arsenal except for your physical abilities.'_**

The whiskered teen resolutely nodded before he quietly ran towards the source of all the noise. As he got closer the cacophony of metal clashing against metal got louder and increased in pace.

 _'The time of silence in between the clashes has reduced to the point where even the most skilled human in this dimension can't keep up. I don't know if magecraft can increase a person's speed to this point, but even if it can, that means that something supernatural is occurring over there,'_ Naruto analyzed.

A few seconds later, he turned a corner and gazed upon the source of all the noise.

Just a little further away from him, there were two people fighting, one wore some kind of red and black garb while the other wore some kind of blue and silver bodysuit.

The one dressed in red and black was using two Chinese-style short swords. One was colored black, while the other one was white.

On the other hand, the one dressed in the blue and silver bodysuit was utilizing a glowing red spear with intricate designs on it.

In an instant, the two broke apart and the one with the spear crouched and placed his spear in a diagonal line in front of him. The spear let out some sort of visible red energy that instantly put the other on guard.

Naruto took a small step forward to take a closer look at what the spearman was doing.

It was just a small step but it was enough to catch the spearman's attention.

"Who's there?" the man in blue yelled as he disabled his technique.

 _'Shit! I've gotten rusty!'_ Naruto berated himself as he took off towards the entrance of the school building.

 ** _'What are you going to do?'_** Kurama asked with an undertone of urgency in his voice.

 _'I'm gonna run into the school. That man, when he was fighting the guy in red, instead of stabbing, he was slashing a whole lot more. If I move into the school, then he'll be forced down to only stabbing,'_ Naruto replied as he ran.

 ** _'But that means that you won't have anywhere to dodge either. The only place you'll be able to dodge, is backwards! Considering the length of his spear, you'll be hit for sure!'_** Kurama protested.

The blonde teen let out a confident smirk and rebutted the biju's statement,

 _'Not true. If the school corridors were_ _only_ _corridors, then you would be right.'_

He skidded and shot through the entrance of the school as he continued explaining his plan to his tenant,

 _'Thing is, a corridor inside a school is filled with things like classrooms and stairs. I know this terrain better than him…probably, and that means that I can utilize all the areas in the school better than him. Not only that, but I also know what's going to come up next if I head in a certain direction. That means that I can make plans based on the upcoming areas, while the only thing he can do, is chase me.'_

Naruto rushed up the stairs and swiftly ran into the corridor.

Instead of continuing to run though, he stopped to look back, hoping to see the intimidating figure of the man in the bodysuit.

Only…there was nothing but air behind him.

 _'What? Is he waiting for me outside? Did he figure out my plan?'_ He asked himself.

He waited for a split second more before Kurama frantically yelled out a warning,

 ** _'BEHIND YOU!'_**

Naruto didn't hesitate.

He leaped forward as far as he could and twisted his body at the same time.

As soon as he touched the ground again, he found himself facing the man in blue and silver holding out his spear out as if he was stabbing someone.

"Hoooo," the spearman crowed, "you've got good reflexes."

* * *

Lancer was impressed.

This kid had managed to dodge a blow that he hadn't even seen coming.

Well, with the amount of killing intent he was leaking and how slowly he thrust out his spear, it wouldn't really be that impressive for someone in _his_ era to be able to dodge that.

But the blonde kid _wasn't_ from his era. He was from this one.

An era full of complacent people, who never actually faced each other in combat.

This kid was an odd one.

So he asked,

"What's your name, kid?"

Even if the kid was about to die, he still wanted to know his name.

What could he say? He was interested.

The whiskered kid smirked a little shakily,

"Naruto," he said, "Uzumaki Emiya Naruto."

Lancer too, gave him a smirk,

"You can call me, Lancer," he introduced before continuing,

"I'm sorry, _Naruto_ , but you won't survive this night," His red eyes narrowed, "Dead men tell no tales and whatnot. Curse the fact that you were born with no power or luck,"

His voice was grave.

The blonde's smirk stabilized and his cerulean eyes danced menacingly,

"I won't die here, nor will I die tonight."

The kid's smirk morphed into a malicious smile,

"If you think you can kill me, them why don't you try?" The kid asked confidently, as if he was sure of his own victory.

Heh, if the kid wanted to be killed so badly, then who was he to deny him?

Lancer raised his spear into a charging position and rushed towards Naruto,

"Here I come!"

* * *

 _'Shit, the only reason I was able to dodge was because of Kurama's negative emotion sensing and the fact that he vastly underestimated me. I can't fight him right now, especially not in this terrain. He has the definite advantage if we fight here,'_

The blonde shifted to a looser stance,

 _'but if I try to escape using this terrain, then that advantage becomes mine,'_ he thought to himself as he waited for Lancer to charge.

"Here I come!" Lancer yelled and contrary to his expectation, instead of dodging backwards or rushing towards him, Naruto bolted towards the side and crashed through a classroom door.

Lancer lost his smirk and stopped his charge after barely missing the blonde, and then, he too rushed inside after him.

There he was!

There, right in front of Lancer, was his crafty opponent who was rushing towards the other end of the room.

Lancer smirked again and once again charged towards him…

…only to stab nothing but air again as the infuriating teen once again barreled through another door that led back out to the same corridor that they had entered from and barely dodged his attack.

"Tch, you're not gonna make this easy for me, are ya, kid?" Lancer wondered out loud before rushing after the blonde again.

The only problem was… the hallway was completely empty with no signs of shattered windows or anything.

 _'Hmm? Where did he go?'_ The ancient spearman wondered to himself as he looked around.

He walked a little towards the direction that he was sure that he heard the blonde go towards.

 _'Now that I think about it, his footsteps are really quiet. I could barely hear them while he was running,'_

He let out a quiet chuckle,

 _'Well, he messed up the first time I heard him.'_

His eyes glowed with unholy intensity,

 _'One of the last mistakes of his life.'_

He walked a few more steps before he came upon another flight of stairs.

"Now, which way did you go? Up or down?"

He wondered aloud before he spotted a piece of brown cloth, no doubt belonging to his elusive opponent, caught under the railing on the flight of stairs heading upwards.

He let out another chuckle, then ran up the stairs, unwilling to let his target get away.

* * *

 _'Sounds like he fell for it,'_

Naruto thought to himself as he stayed crouching on the bottom floor, underneath the stairs.

After a few seconds of deliberation, Naruto got up and quietly ran for the exit.

He turned the corner and ran past the lockers, but before he could make it out the door, two new figures appeared in front of him.

One man and one girl, both dressed in red.

Before they could say anything though, Naruto barreled past them and told the girl in a barely audible voice,

"Sorry Tohsaka, but I gotta go. Have fun with your date!"

"Eh? Eeeeeeh? Date? Y-you're wrong! This guy's not my date!" Rin yelled at the fleeing blonde boy, blushing bright red.

The message failed to reach him however, since he had already left.

"Rin, what do you want to do? Do you want me to track Lancer?" Her Servant asked calmly.

She considered her options for a second, before she responded,

"No. We follow Emiya-kun. Silently. We don't want him to know we're there."

Archer turned to his master and raised an eyebrow, "May I ask why?"

Rin responded instantly,

"Lancer is a servant," she explained in a matter-of-fact tone, "Giving him the slip isn't that easy. There's no doubt in my mind that Lancer will be able to track down Emiya-kun. When that happens, we'll catch Lancer by surprise while he's trying to kill Emiya-kun."

Archer nodded slightly,

"That's a good plan, but… I hope that's the only reason."

The black haired girl blushed slightly,

"O-of course! There's no other reason at all!"

She clapped her hands together angrily,

"Now shut up! We have to get going; there's no telling how far he's gotten!"

Archer shrugged his shoulders calmly,

"Right, right."

 ** _'Why are you still running, Naruto?'_** Kurama asked curiously.

 _'That guy, there's no way he won't be able to track me, his senses are way too sharp,'_ the whiskered blonde explained, _'I have to make it back home before he manages to catch up. All my weapons are there, not to mention that I have the home field advantage there.'_

 ** _'Home field advantage? What do you mean by that?'_**

Naruto was quick to answer,

 _'It means that I have the lay of the land while he doesn't. I know the dimensions of the house and don't need to look around to figure out where everything else is placed, since I already know based on my current position._

He smirked a little at his plan, _'My advantage is that Lancer has to constantly look around to reaffirm his position, while I have don't have to worry about anything like that. He's much stronger than me at the moment, so every disadvantage counts.'_

 ** _'This plan isn't as foolproof as you're explaining, correct?'_** Kurama deduced.

Naruto lost his smirk, _'Yeah. Lancer is an experienced fighter, so he can deduce his surroundings in an instant and he probably only has to look around once to find out the relative position of everything. The only time he has to look around again, is when he changes the direction that he's looking at and his position at the same time. If I keep him where he is and let him face just one direction, then he'll have to look around only once. The only chance I have, is to disorient him in my terrain. Even then, after a while he'll probably get used to where everything is. I can't let this fight drag on.'_

 ** _'Are you going to fight inside the house?'_** Kurama wondered.

 _'No. My dodging space is severely limited there and it has just enough space for him to wave about his spear however he wants. Fighting in there is suicide.'_

Kurama had one last question,

 ** _'Do you think you can win?'_**

The fight between Lancer and that guy in red flashed in his mind once again and he forced a smile,

 _'Of course!'_

* * *

"Looks like you were expecting me, kid," Lancer said in an easy going voice after a second of tense silence.

"I was," Naruto replied, on guard.

The two were standing in the Emiya household's backyard.

Normally they wouldn't have been able to see each other at such a time in the night (at least Naruto wouldn't have been able to) but the moon hanging high up in the sky did a fine job of solving that problem.

"I honestly didn't expect you to be able to trick me like that. A feat like that deserves praise," Lancer said, quite impressed.

"I see. So as a prize for managing to trick you, would you mind telling me what the hell is going on here?"

Lancer let out a small laugh, " _I_ wouldn't mind, but sadly, this whole thing is supposed to be a secret. So you can see why I can't tell you anything.

Naruto sighed in disappointment, "I thought so. You wouldn't be killing me if you actually could tell me anything about this."

While he was speaking on the outside, he was also furiously analyzing all the information he'd gained on the inside,

 _'He says that he has to keep this whole thing a secret and back in school, there were two people fighting. At least now I know that this isn't some elaborate plot based around me. It also seems like Tohsa-'_

 ** _'FOCUS! HERE HE COMES!'_** Kurama warned suddenly.

Naruto barely noticed the spear heading for him in time for him to dodge a fatal blow.

"Gah!"

The spear had still managed to graze his arm though.

"You really do have good reflexes," Lancer praised, "But that won't save you from death!"

In an instant he was once again in front of the blonde teen and this time, the young man had no time to react.

Lancer's foot shot out and nailed Naruto right in the stomach.

The whiskered dimension traveler coughed up blood as he flew across the backyard,

 _'Shit! I made a mistake!'_ He lamented as he crashed through the door of the workshop and landed inside of it.

 _'My plan depended on me being able to keep up with Lancer, but the way I am now, I can barely even react to any of his movements!'_

He put a hand on the wall for support as he struggled to get up.

He was out of options and not only that, but his only way out the workshop was blocked by the very same person who put him in this position.

Lancer raised his spear while Rin, on the rooftop, tensed her muscles along with her servant.

Naruto too, prepared himself to respond to any attacks that Lancer made, and as he did, the blood from his cut slid down his arm and dropped on to the faded, white-colored magic circle below.

Before any of the four could make a move, the magic circle underneath the blonde activated in a gust of wind and flash of bright light.

"The seventh Servant!?" Lancer yelled in surprise as he blocked a swift blow that still managed to send him tumbling outside.

There, in front of Naruto, was a petite blonde woman dressed in a blue and white dress and silver armor.

Instead of chasing Lancer outside, the mysterious woman turned back towards the whiskered teen and asked,

"I ask of you, are you my master?"

Naruto's response was delivered clearly and without hesitation,

"No."

The female warrior stumbled slightly,

"Eh? What do you mea-"

"I'm sorry lady," the young man apologized, "Somebody prank called you or something. I'm pretty sure _I_ didn't order a hooker who specializes in cosplay and S&M."

"A-a hooker? Yo-You're wrong I'm not a hooker!" The blonde haired lady protested, "Your Servant, Saber, has come in response to your summons!" She said, raising her voice in indignation while trying to explain the situation.

Naruto let out a nervous laugh, "R-right. I'm sorry but please go home now. I seriously did not order a teleporting hooker."

Lancer chose this moment to intervene from the backyard,

"You guys done over there? Can we start this battle now?" He asked, a little tired from waiting for them to finish up their argument.

Rin face-palmed.


	5. Learning About The Situation A Little

**Disclaimer – I don't own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**

* * *

"Sooooo, how do we do this pact thing?" Naruto asked, scratching his head.

While she wasn't one to show much emotion, this time, Saber judged it appropriate to let out a large sigh of relief.

After all, it _had_ taken three whole minutes to convince him that _no_ , she was not some sort of hooker, and it had taken two _more_ minutes to convince him that becoming a Master was not synonymous to becoming some kind of a pimp.

It was a good thing that Lancer found this situation amusing enough not to interrupt.

Deciding not to let go of this chance, especially after trying to convince him for five _freaking_ minutes, Saber quickly said the words that would seal the pact,

"My sword will henceforth be at your side; your fate is henceforth my fate."

She made a stony expression as the swirling air in her hands glowed golden for a split second,

"The pact is now sealed," she announced resolutely.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he felt his right hand burn and some strange energy act up inside of him, _'This feeling…I've felt it somewhere before.'_

Lancer deemed this moment the most prudent to interject,

"Seriously, can we please start fighting already? I mean – you guys are done, right?"

"My apologies, Lancer," Saber apologized as she calmly walked out the workshop, "I thank you for your patience. Have no worries, we may start our battle now."

Lancer smirked, "Finally! I was getting worried that this would take all night," he complained exasperatedly before crouching a bit and bringing his spear in front of him,

"Let's have a fun battle!" He announced excitedly.

Saber gave him a firm nod before she shot towards him at a speed where human eyes could no longer keep track of her.

Lancer reacted quickly and blocked the left to right downward diagonal slash aimed at his chest before they both separated and clashed in a flurry of blows. In an instant, both fighters moved around as they parried and dodged their opponents strikes.

Meanwhile, Naruto scowled as he walked to the door of the workshop to watch the battle.

Up on the rooftop, Rin too narrowed her eyes to watch the battle and glean some information about her enemies.

Back in the backyard, the two fighters had not let up on each other. Saber focused her eyes on her enemy and sent him tumbling with a particularly hard blow.

Lancer quickly back flipped and landed on his feet. His eyes shifted away from his opponent to drink in his new position for only a second.

But that second was enough.

Saber didn't hesitate to take advantage of the opening.

She appeared in front of Lancer like lightning and struck him with a blow that he was barely able to block. Lancer flew backwards but managed to stabilize himself in time to block her next blow.

He pushed her away and leaped towards her in an effort to finish her off, but Saber was prepared.

Once again, the two ancient warriors clashed in a torrent of strikes and parries.

 _'That Lancer guy… he's trying to keep the fight in the middle of the field, so that he doesn't have to look around too much. It's a sound strategy; if he's in the middle of the field, then he doesn't have to worry about accidentally being cornered into a wall,'_ Naruto dissected before looking at his own Servant,

 _Saber, on the other hand, is trying to do the exact opposite. She's trying to push him to the borders so that she can utilize the openings he creates to look around.'_

Kurama chose this moment to chime in, **_'So, she's basically using your plan then.'_**

Naruto nodded,

 _'Yeah.'_

 ** _'Your plan didn't exactly work well though,'_** Kurama pointed out.

Naruto frowned,

 _'That's because I couldn't keep up with Lancer with the way I am now. She, on the other hand, can keep up just fine.'_

 ** _'Impressive,'_** Kurama praised.

Naruto narrowed his eyes even more,

 _'Yeah it is, but...'_ He trailed off hesitantly.

 ** _'What is it?'_** Kurama asked curiously.

The blonde boy did not respond.

* * *

"Coward! What's the meaning of this, concealing your weapon?" Lancer yelled.

Saber sliced at him, to which, he dodged backwards.

They stood in silence for a second, gauging each other's abilities and reviewing the information gained during the battle before the blonde haired Servant spoke up,

"What's the matter, Lancer?" she asked, her voice holding a slight undertone of goading, "If you simply stand there, you will give spearmen a bad name."

She tensed her muscles,

"If you will not come to me, then I shall go to you!"

Lancer readied himself,

"Before you do, let me ask you one thing. Your Noble Phantasm, is it a sword?"

Saber remained as stone-faced as ever,

"Perhaps, perhaps not," she answered tauntingly, "It may be a battle-axe. Or perhaps it is a polearm."

She raised her invisible weapon and primed it,

"Or who knows? It might even be a bow, Lancer."

Naruto's eye twitched,

 _'Bullshit! You clearly said, 'My sword will henceforth be at your side' when you made the pact. If you wanna trick people with stuff like this, then don't give them all the damn info BEFOREHAND!'_ He mentally raged before turning to Lancer,

 _'And you! Why the hell are you asking such a stupid question!?'_

"Very funny, swordsman!" Lancer sarcastically commended while twirling his lance.

 _'See!? You already knew!? Why the hell did you ask, then!?'_ The whiskered teen raved.

Lancer crouched then hurtled towards Saber.

She was prepared and managed to block, but Lancer's strength combined with his momentum sent her skidding quite a ways back. Almost so that her back was touching the wall of the house.

Yet, she did not take her eyes off her opponent.

Lancer leapt at her once again and brought his spear down from the right side,

 _'Heh, gotcha!'_ He thought to himself as he descended upon her, _'You think well in the heat of battle, that's why I'm sure this will work! Right now, the two of your most sensible options are, one – to dodge backwards, which will allow you to counterattack as I try and bring the spear back in position in time to block, or two – to dodge to my left, which will allow me to keep my momentum and pressure, while you will have to stay on the defensive.'_

He let out a tiny grin,

 _'The choice is obvious here. No doubt, you will try to dodge backwards, but behind you there's a wall. That slight distraction will allow me to win. Your mistake was keeping your eyes focused on me, Saber!'_

Lancer slashed and contrary to his expectations, Saber did not dodge backwards. Instead, she took the other option and dodged to his left.

His eyes widened in shock, but he was an experienced warrior, this surprising move didn't slow him down one bit.

Using the momentum of the spear, Lancer turned his body to the left and began a relentless barrage upon Saber's lithe form.

Saber, not one to lose so easily, kept stepping back as she fended off the onslaught of blows coming from Lancer.

This continued on for a few more seconds, before Lancer leaped backwards and halted the ongoing pace of the battle.

"Well!" He started jovially, "I would unleash my Noble Phantasm right about now, but I really don't want that servant up there to see it."

He slung his spear on his shoulder and started walking away from her,

"My lord is a coward, you see," he said as he raised his arms in a what-can-you-do manner, "he doesn't want me to engage against two opponents at the same time, nor does he want me to keep fighting an opponent while another one is watching."

"Are you running away!?" Saber yelled, indignant.

Lancer chuckled,

"You can chase me if you want,"

he looked back at Saber with ruby eyes dancing with killing intent,

"If you think your Master can handle fighting another Servant, of course."

With that, he leapt away.

The blonde haired ancient warrior grimaced and looked back at her Master calmly walking towards her.

"Stay here for a second, Master," she ordered in a precise tone, "I shall deal with the Servant observing us."

She prepared to leap on to the rooftop to engage the other servant in battle while Archer too prepared himself.

Before anything could happen though, Naruto put a hand on Saber's shoulder and addressed the two observers,

"YOOOO! I really don't get what's going on here, so can we please all calm down for a second?"

Saber glared at him as she swatted his hand away,

"What are you doing, Master?" She asked sharply, "They are our enemies!"

Naruto gave her a pleading stare,

"Enemies in what?" He asked with a little bite and frustration leaking into in his voice, "I have absolutely no idea what's going on here! The only information I got from your explanation was that you're a warrior on my team who calls herself a "Servant". And the fact that you're not a hooker.

He turned to look at the rooftop again, and asked the duo on the rooftop amicably,

"Can we just not fight right now?

He shook his head a little exasperatedly and shrugged his shoulders, "There's no point in fighting without one of the combatants even the knowing the reason, right?"

The party of two on the rooftop said nothing for a few seconds, before Tohsaka's smug voice rang out,

"Very well!" She responded as she jumped to the ground, "I'll hear out your request and explain everything to you."

She started walking towards the entrance of the house but turned to Naruto after taking a few steps and made a small face of realization,

"Ah! I almost forgot," she said as she bowed, "Good evening, Emiya-kun."

Saber discreetly twitched at the name and repeated it under her breath while Naruto raised his hand in front of him, dumbfounded at the casual greeting, and stammered out,

"A-ah. Right, good evening."

Tohsaka gave a satisfied smirk and ordered,

"Well, it's cold here, so let's head inside. Don't worry, my Servant will stay on your rooftop and keep watch."

She proceeded to slide open the glass door leading into the house,

"I'm sure there's a lot you want to know."

* * *

Once everyone had taken a seat and gotten comfortable, Rin started her explanation,

"To be blunt, you've been chosen as a-"

Naruto abruptly raised his hand to stop her,

"Just a second," he stopped her as he turned to look at Saber, who was sitting behind him like some sort of maid or something, "Why the hell aren't you sitting at the table?"

Saber gave him an icy stare that almost made him shiver, "I am a Servant."

"Stop saying weird stuff and just come sit like a normal person," he ordered, sighing.

"…"

The three spent a second in tense, unbearable silence before the warrior in blue complied,

"Very well," she said in an even tone.

Rin let out a nervous laugh, "Well!" She started with a nervous clap of her hands, "Now that _that's_ settled, we can finally get down to business."

She let go of her nervous demeanor and looked gravely at the blonde boy, "Emiya-kun, you've been chosen as a master in this war. Have you noticed a brand somewhere on your body?"

 ** _'Naruto…"_**

 _'The unexplainable mark on my hand…'_

He raised his right hand up to his face and instead of there simply being a red smudge, in its place there was an abstract design broken up into three parts that oddly resembled a sword.

"Do you mean this?" He asked, displaying the back of his hand to the girl in red.

Said girl nodded, "yes, _those_. That's the mark that brands you as a Master. They're also spells to control your servant. Meaning, as long as you have them, you can control your Servant."

"As long as I have them?" The orange loving blonde asked," Can you explain how this works? In simple terms please."

Rin stared at his eyes intensely, "Command seals are inviolable orders. You can command a Servant to do anything you want, irrelevant of whether _they_ want to or not."

She stuck out three fingers, "You only get three though, so don't waste them."

Naruto frowned, "This sounds a lot like slavery. I don't like it."

Rin waved a hand in front of her face, "That's not all their used for. Command seals are crystallizations of great magic, so they have a lot of power and uses."

Naruto gave her an inquisitive look.

She put a finger on her chin and thought for a second, "Suppose you went to town and didn't bring your Servant with you, and suddenly you get attacked. At that point you can use a command seal to order your Servant to come to you. The seal will use its powerful magic and summon your Servant to your location."

She thought some more before giving another example, "Or you could power up your Servant's next attack with the command seal so that the next attack will be twice as powerful as possible. The list of things you can or can't do is quite long."

Naruto examined the black haired girl's words for a second before he realized something,

"We've been talking about all this absolute commands and stuff but I just noticed, we haven't even exchanged names," he noted, addressing the blonde woman, "My name is Naruto, Uzumaki Emiya Naruto."

Saber pondered over his name and her response for a few seconds before she answered curtly, "It is better if you do not know my true name. If I tell you my name, it could put us at a disadvantage in this war."

Naruto sighed exasperatedly, "Come oooooon. I don't even know what to call you then."

Saber nodded, "You can call me Saber. That is my class and designation."

Naruto's eye twitched but he didn't voice any displeasure,

"Well, at least I have something to call you now."

Rin chose this moment to interject, "Uzumaki? I didn't know that Emiya was your middle name."

Naruto turned to look back at her, "It's not. Uzumaki was my last name before I was adopted by Kiritsugu; Uzumaki and Emiya are both my last names."

Rin nodded, "I see, I see."

"…"

They all sat in silence for a few seconds before Naruto suddenly slammed his hand down on the table and yelled to get everyone back on track,

"A-NY-WAY, what is this "war" that you guys are talking about? And why can't Saber reveal her name? If there was a war going on, people would have noticed, right? I don't get what's going on at all!"

Rin let him finish unloading his barrage of questions before she started on her explanation,

"To make it short, you've been dragged into a ritual. A ritual where seven mages, called "Masters", fight to the death with their corresponding "Servants"."

Naruto opened his mouth to ask another question but she continued speaking so as to not suffer through any more interruptions,

"This ritual is a giant death tournament to obtain "The Holy Grail". Thus, it is called, "The Holy Grail War"."

Once again, Naruto opened his mouth to ask a question and once again, she blatantly ignored his attempt and continued speaking,

"Think of Servants as familiars granted to you by the Holy Grail. Although their technically familiars, they're actually legendary heroes from the past. That's why Saber didn't tell you her name. If she did and someone else found out, then they would be able to figure out her weaknesses based on her history and legend."

 _'Crap. I've never taken the history of this world seriously. I won't be able to figure out any opponents' weaknesses,'_ Naruto nervously thought to himself.

Rin continued on, oblivious to his thoughts,

"The Holy Grail summons these heroes, and after that, it's up to us to provide them with enough mana to keep them in this world. Of course, the amount of mana consumption would be insane if it was just the Master's responsibility, so the Holy Grail helps out."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, ' _I can't control mana at all. Meaning, I can't give Saber any. Does that mean she will disappear soon?'_

He opened his mouth to ask a question and once again found himself overruled,

 _'I have a really important question, damnit!'_

"Anyway, Servants are usually Spirit form, and you can materialize them to make them fight. This reduces mana drain and normal people are less likely to see them."

She gave him a cheerful smile,

"Any questions?"

Naruto's eye twitched violently, _'This bitch…'_

She merrily clapped her hands, "None? Great!"

He most certainly did not panic, "Wait, wait, wait, wait! I have a question!"

"Yes?"

His face settled into a cool stare, "You gave me all this information, but you neglected to tell me the most important piece of information."

"Oh?"

"Why? Why are all the Masters aiming to kill each other? What does this Holy Grail do?"

He paused for a few seconds before adding another statement, "There's a lot more questions that I want to ask but that one's the most important."

Rin frowned, "For a more detailed explanation about this war, we have to go talk to the overseer of this war."

She flashed him a grin, "Get ready for a long walk."

* * *

EMIYA of the Archer class was horribly confused.

Everything in this timeline was exactly the same, except for one fact.

A certain red haired high schooler was missing.

He didn't know what had happened but whatever. Since so much had changed, creating the paradox would be much easier now. All he had to do now, was help Rin win.

He would end this repeating cycle of despair.

For sure.

* * *

Changing out of his dirty clothes, Naruto put on an orange zip-up hoodie which he left unzipped to display the black t-shirt underneath. Under them he wore dark blue jeans and gray sports shoes. Overall, he looked like a normal teenager going out for a walk.

Rin gave him an appraising look, and smirked, "You don't look as terrible as I imagined you would look, Emiya-kun. I'm surprised."

Naruto's eye twitched once again as he tried to ignore her backhanded compliment,

"Hey, Tohsaka. Has this "Holy Grail War" ever happened before?"

Rin, ever the expert on the subject, answered without hesitation, "Yes, four other times. Usually the Holy Grail War happens every sixty years but the last one happened just ten years ago. This is the fifth one."

She looked to the blonde boy and voiced her own question, "Why do you ask?"

"Hmmmm," Naruto hummed, glancing at Saber.

This time, Rin's eye twitched but she didn't inquire any further.

"…"

They walked in silence for about ten minutes, before Naruto voiced a prevalent thought in his head,

"Saber, stop walking behind me. It's annoying,"

Saber considered his order for a few seconds before she complied. Albeit, a little reluctantly.

It was strange for her, a Servant, to be treated like this by a Master. Strange, but not unpleasant. It seems that Kirstsugu and his son were quite different from each other.

While Saber was analyzing her Master's nature, Rin spoke up to inform Naruto of a thought that had been nagging at her for some time,

"You know, with the amount of questions you had, I thought you would ask why Saber doesn't seem to be awed or surprised by the modern world."

Saber's attention snapped to the conversation at the mention of her name, while Rin put her hands up in a questioning manner, "Maybe I overestimated your perceptiveness?"

Naruto turned to her and gave her a confused look, "Isn't it obvious that she already knows about this stuff? I mean- when she was first summoned, she recognized what a hooker was, even though they probably didn't use that word in the past. Also, she looks foreign but can speak completely fluent Japanese."

He shook his head, "These points make it obvious that she already has _some_ information about our era."

Saber's emerald eyes frosted over as she remembered the events of her summoning.

Meanwhile, Rin was examining the information that she had gained from his statement,

 _'He's smarter than I gave him credit for,'_ she claimed, a little impressed at his reasoning.

"Plus," Naruto started, snapping her out of her thoughts, "Saber was summoned in the last Holy Grail War as well."

Saber blanched as her eyes widened in surprise,

"H-how?"

"Probably under Kiritsugu," he continued, ignoring the petite blonde's question.

Rin's head whipped towards Saber,

"Is that true?" She asked, surprised.

Saber walked in stunned silence for a few seconds, before she answered,

"Yes. I was summoned under the Saber class ten years ago, just like my designation now, and It was Emiya Kiritsugu who summoned me."

Rin didn't hold back her surprise, "Eeeh? What are the chances!?"

She paused for a second, "And how did _you_ know, Emiya-kun? It's clear that Saber didn't tell you."

The orange wearing boy put a hand on his chin,

"Well, the first time this possibility came in my head, was when Lancer was fighting Saber. Every time they changed positions, Lancer had to look around for a split second to reorient himself, but Saber didn't do that at all. In fact, she actually _used_ that to her advantage and kept her eyes trained on him the entire time. Around the end, when Lancer cornered her on that wall, she had two choices. Jump back or jump to his left. She hadn't taken her eyes off Lancer even once and should have had no clue that she was cornered. So, in her perspective, jumping back should have clearly been the more advantageous option."

Rin finished his train of thought, "But she didn't, even when she should have."

Naruto nodded, "Exactly. Why did she dodge to his left, when clearly dodging backwards was the better option?" He asked slowly before answering his own question,

"I could tell that Lancer was an experienced warrior, so there's no doubt that he didn't let his expression or eyes indicate anything. After thinking about it and considering all the information I had, I narrowed the cause down to three different possibilities.

He stuck out his index finger, "Possibility number one – her invisible sword is invisible to everyone except her, which allowed her to look at the reflection of the wall behind her on her sword and dodge appropriately. This was the likeliest option at the time."

He brought up his middle finger to display alongside his index finger,

"Possibility number two – she has a special skill which lets her "sense" her surroundings. Clearly Lancer didn't know about it, so if this option was the right one, then this skill would only be exclusive to her,"

he brought up his ring finger to display alongside the other two,

"And finally, possibility number three – She'd been in the Emiya residence before and was already familiar with the terrain and surroundings. At the time, this was least likeliest option."

Rin thought over the points he had made and asked, "What made you come to the conclusion that she was summoned in previous Holy Grail War?"

"First of all," Naruto started, reminiscent of a teacher explaining a concept to his students, "her reaction was really suspicious when you called me "Emiya-kun" in the backyard. At that point, option number three became the most likely. Second, I know that Kiritsugu got this house around ten years ago, and when you compare that piece of info to the fact that the last Holy Grail War _also_ happened ten years ago, the truth shows itself. That's the only other time that she could have been in this house."

Rin gaped for a few seconds before her mind started working on overdrive,

 _'Emiya-kun…it's not that I overestimated him, it's the complete opposite. I vastly_ _underestimated_ _him. Not only did he give Lancer the slip, but he also managed to figure out all this with barely any information. He's much more perceptive than I gave him credit for.'_

She gave him a quick glance,

 _'He looks like he's thinking deeply about something. There's no doubt about it, he's probably thinking of some massive strategy to win this entire war. I need to be careful.'_

Meanwhile, Naruto was indeed thinking about something deeply,

 _'Ahhhh, I had way too much information dumped into my head. I want some ramen to relieve this headache.'_

His eyes glared sharply at the road ahead of him, _'But which flavor should I choose? Miso, pork, maybe beef? This is serious. Only one flavour can heal my soul!'_

Rin glanced at him from the corner of her eye again, _'He looks like he's making some kind of dangerous plan. I have to be careful. It's almost like he's getting ready for something big.'_

Meanwhile, per to Rin's thoughts, Naruto was indeed getting ready for something big,

 _'Eenie Meenie Miney Mo. Miso ramen it is! I can't wait to get back home!'_ He thought to himself as he smiled.

Rin saw his smile and came to a frightening conclusion, _'He's formulated his plan! I have to figure it out!'_

Naruto's smile widened, _'Miso ramen! Miso ramen, I love you!'_

Fortunately for Rin, Saber decided to interrupt both their thought processes,

"Master-"

"Wait, Saber," Naruto interrupted, "Call me Naruto, it feels really weird when you call me Master."

Saber nodded, "Very well, Naruto then. Yes, that seems acceptable," she noted, "As I was saying, have you made any plans or strategies? It would be wise to strategize, considering that I can't enter spirit form, or the fact that you are unable to give me any mana."

Rin made a face of surprise, "Really?" She asked, shocked, "I knew you didn't have any offensive magic since you didn't use any against Lancer, but you can't even give Saber any mana? That's some really basic stuff."

Naruto sighed despondently, "Yeah, I can't use any magic at all. I have the circuits but I can't use it no matter what. Kiritsugu and I already tried. We never found out the reason though."

Rin made sound of consideration, "I see, no wonder you didn't stand a chance against Lancer."

Naruto laughed a little sheepishly before a thought struck him,

 _'Come to think of it, I've fought way faster guys than Lancer. I should have been able to keep up with him, even without magic or chakra. What's going on?'_

 ** _'Naruto,'_** Kurama addressed, **_'Your body has reverted, you know? All that muscle memory that you gained from fighting those enemies is…gone?'_** Kurama explained, phrasing the last word like a question, ** _'I don't know actually. Rather than your body being reverted, it's more like it's being… suppressed. It's like this entire world was trying to erase you, but your own power fought back to keep you in existence. I think you having the Yang Six Paths power is the only reason you're still alive,'_**

 _'Why did I turn into a seven-year-old then?'_ Naruto asked curiously.

 ** _'Your Yang Six Paths power is powerful, but you were and still are up against the world, you know?'_** Kurama explained, **_'Even if it couldn't fully erase you, it still managed to suppress you to the point where ten years of your life were stored deep inside of you and your ability to expel any sort of energy was robbed from you. In fact, I think that if that mysterious healing sheathe hadn't been implanted in you, then you would have lost all your memories too.'_**

 _'You mean that sheathe healed my mind?'_ Naruto asked, confused.

 ** _'No,'_** the fox denied, **_'It healed your body, but I don't think it has the ability to heal someone's mind.'_**

 _'Then what do you mean when you say that it allowed me to keep my memories?'_ Naruto wondered.

 ** _'That sheathe…I think it camouflaged your…unnaturalness from this world a little,'_** Kurama speculated, ** _'So, in response, the world backed off a little and relieved a bit of the pressure. The less unnatural you are, the less the world will try to suppress you. You don't need it now since your mind has stabilized, but back then, it was vital in keeping you alive with your memory intact.'_**

Naruto went over the implications of Kurama's words before the Biju spoke up once again,

 ** _'By the way, that sheathe is acting up again. I observed it the entire time, it seems like the closer you get to that Saber-flesh bag, the more it acts up.'_**

 _'What's it doing?'_ Naruto inquired.

 ** _'Nothing at the moment,'_** Kurama informed, **_'My guess is that it'll work just like it did ten years ago. I'll make sure to watch it closely when you're injured. If I'm right, then it should help you heal in a much faster rate than normal.'_**

Naruto's eye twitched, _' When I get injured? What makes you so sure that I'll get injured in the first place?'_

Kurama roared in laughter, **_'Ha! There's no way you're_** ** _not_** ** _getting injured! Trouble has a crush on you bigger than that Hinata-flesh bag's!'_**

Naruto grit his teeth, _'Oh yeah!? Well you-'_

"Naruto, are you okay?" Saber unknowingly interrupted, a little concerned.

Naruto calmed himself down and ignored the nine-tailed fox's growing laughter of superiority as he answered, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Saber tilted her head to the side, "You seemed to be getting more and more enraged with each passing second. Did something happen?"

Naruto forced a smile as Kurama's laughter got louder and louder, "N-nah. I'm perfectly fine. Nothing happened, I just got the sudden urge to kill a fox for some reason."

"A…fox?" Saber asked, confused.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he barely resisted the rapidly growing urge to attack the giant nine-tailed fox inside of him,

"Ha ha, yeah. Don't worry about it. It's something…uh…personal. Yeah! It's just something personal that I…um…remembered."

Saber stared at him suspiciously for a few seconds, but ended up giving him a firm nod,

"Very well. If this is a personal matter, then I shall not inquire."

Naruto gave her a nervous laugh, "Ha ha, yeah, uh… thanks."

She gave him a small smile but it vanished so fast that he wondered whether he'd just imagined it or something.

She looked back to her front and Naruto used this chance to properly examine her features and behavior.

A few seconds went by before Naruto caught something in all the interactions he had had with her,

"Hey Saber… are you... angry at me?" He asked tentatively.

Saber stiffened a bit but responded in an even tone,

"No. I am most definitely not."

Naruto didn't just give up there, even though this line of thought made him really nervous,

"A-are you sure. It's just- it seems like you're really mad at me."

Saber did not turn her head to look at him, "Why would I be? I have no reason to be mad at you."

Naruto rubbed his head,

"I-is this because I called you a hooker?"

Saber narrowed her eyes and clenched her fists as Rin muffled her laughter from the sidelines,

"I'm really, really sorry! Please forgive me!" He yelled, bowing his head and clapping his hands together.

Saber looked at her Master from the corner of her eye and judged his apology.

After a few seconds of silent walking, Saber turned her head towards him and sighed,

"Apology accepted, Naruto. Please raise your head, it is undignified for a Master to act like this."

Naruto complied, "Y-yeah. Thanks."

Saber gave him a gentle smile, "I'm glad that you have reflected on your actions and I trust that you will not assume a person's occupation in such a manner again?"

Naruto let his shoulders sag, "Yeah. That was my bad," he said, feeling like he was back in Iruka-sensei's class again.

Saber nodded her head, satisfied, "Good"

Rin judged this the appropriate moment to celebrate,

"Great!" She cheered enthusiastically, "Now that we've solved this little problem, our walk to the church should be a lot more pleasant!"

"Huh? We're going to a church?" Naruto asked, surprised.

Rin looked at the astonished boy, "Where did you think we were going?"

"I don't know!" Naruto exclaimed, "I was just kinda following you!"

Rin let out a large, vexed sigh,

 _'He may be perceptive, but there's no doubt that he's also an idiot.'_

She let a small smile creep onto her face,

 _That's not such a bad thing though. I guess it's just one the things that makes Emiya-kun, Emiya-kun."_

Her smile faded, and a frown took its place,

 _'Now, all that's left, is to have him meet Kotomine.'_

She took a glance at the blonde boy,

 _'I wonder how this will go.'_

* * *

 **Author's note - Yes, I added a little extra element of strategy to Saber and Lancer's battle**


	6. Those Who Belong On The Battlefield

**Disclaimer – I don't own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**

* * *

 _"K-Kurama, I can't sense negative emotions anymore, and my old instincts are gone too, but this church…this atmosphere… I don't know why but it's almost suffocating me...'_ Naruto divulged as he felt cold sweat run down his back.

 ** _'You're not wrong,'_** Kurama agreed, **_'This church… it's leaking negative emotions like a damn faucet.'_**

 _'Is this place the source of the negative emotions muffling your senses?'_ Naruto asked.

 ** _'No,'_** Kurama denied, **_'But be careful all the same; this place is no less evil than the one permeating throughout Fuyuki.'_**

 _'Right,'_ Naruto assented.

"What's wrong, Emiya-kun; aren't you coming?" Rin asked curiously.

Naruto gave her a nervous smile, "Don't worry about it, I just got a really bad feeling for a sec there."

He shook his hand in front of his face as if he were waving away a mosquito, "Let's not waste any more time and go."

Rin gave him a look of suspicion but chose not to press the subject.

"Naruto, I shall stand guard out here. This place… I do not like it," Saber interjected.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, _'She noticed it too.'_

His cerulean eyes lost their intensity in an instant as he gave her a grin, "Alright, we'll be counting on you, Saber."

He turned to Rin, "Let's go."

* * *

"Wait. So this "fake" priest - as you keep emphasizing - used to be your father's student, and when your father died, he became your second teacher. Did I get everything?" Naruto summarized.

Rin nodded, "Pretty much."

She grinned mischievously, "It seems you're not as dumb as you look, Emiya-kun. Congratulations."

"Oi!"

Rin's smile widened, "Oh? You managed to catch the insult? I'm impressed. It seems you're not lacking in common sense as much as you're lacking in magecraft."

Naruto's eye twitched violently, _'This bitch…'_

He forced out an ugly smile, "Oh? Are you jealous that I got a Servant that's soooo much more awesome than yours?"

Rin turned a color that would make her overcoat proud, "Grrr, obviously! You can't even give her any mana; you're useless as a Master!"

Naruto gave her a condescending laugh, "HA! We'll see about that!"

Rin gave him a curious look, "Hm? What do you mean by that? You've already failed as a Master."

Naruto's mouth curved into a gentle smile, "Yeah… I completely fail as a Master, so I have no choice but to help her out as a _partner._ "

He looked positively radiant; It was as if all the darkness around them had been banished due to his smile.

"..."

Rin tried to be indignant, she really did, but whatever charm he had put on his face completely prevented her from doing so. All she could do was change the subject, lest she embarrass herself.

"Let's just go in!" She ordered in a tone that left no room for discussion.

Naruto couldn't stop himself from raising an eyebrow and cocking his head,

 _'What did I do?'_ He asked himself as Rin opened the large, heavy doors leading into the church.

They headed inside slowly in total silence, wary of their surroundings. This may have been a place of God, but the aura radiating from it was anything but holy.

"You've never accepted my repeated invitations, and now, here you are, with an unusual guest," an oily voice called out from the darkness.

The mysterious man took a step forward towards the duo, revealing his features to them, and continued, "I take it this means he is the seventh, Rin."

 _'Kurama, how close do I have to be to him for you to sense his negative emotions?'_ Naruto asked, as he examined the priest.

 ** _'Around three meters is my range,'_** Kurama answered.

 _'Get ready,'_ Naruto commanded.

The priest gave Naruto a polite yet spine-chilling smile, "My name is Kotomine Kirei," he informed, "What is your name, seventh Master?"

"Naruto. Uzumaki Emiya Naruto."

The priest couldn't stop the expression of surprise from appearing on his face, "Emiya?"

Naruto marked down the man's reaction in his mind as Kotomine let out a silent chuckle,

"Uzumaki Emiya Naruto, am I correct in assuming that you are the Master of the Saber class?"

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, and calling me Uzumaki Naruto is fine," he notified.

Kotomine smirked and walked towards the blonde teen, "So? Since you haven't left, I'm guessing you want something from me."

 _'He's almost in range,'_ Naruto thought to himself as he said, "Yeah, I want an explanation. Rin already told me the basics, but she didn't tell me anything about _why_ people want this Holy Grail thing."

Kotomine stopped in front of the whiskered blonde and smirked, "This battle you've been caught up in is a ritual meant to determine the one person who is worthy enough to hold the Holy Grail," he explained, "The Holy Grail is a miraculous wish-granting device-"

"Pfft, What!?" Naruto interrupted, laughing, "Wait, seriously, you guys don't actually believe this, do you? I mean- this war is almost as stupid as someone casting an illusion on the moon and reflecting it back on earth to trap everyone in some kind of an ever-peaceful dream-like state."

The other two people in the room looked at him in confusion.

"Uhhh, what?" Rin asked, stupefied.

"HAHAHAHAHAH! Oh my god! All this crap for a wish-granting cup!? Has the cup actually ever granted someone's wish before? I'm genuinely curious," Naruto asked, gasping for air,

Kotomine was the one to answer, "no, but-"

"No buts!" Naruto yelled, making an X shape with his arms, "You guys have no proof that this thing grants wishes, and that's the most important part. Don't you guys think that it's a bit weird that four of these very same wars happened, but not even one person had their wish granted?"

Kotomine calmly brought up a hand, "How do you explain the presence of all these ancient warriors then?"

Naruto smirked challengingly, "bringing the dead back to life isn't such a crazy feat."

 ** _'Naruto…it's not something to be surprised about in our world, but in this world…'_** Kurama reminded.

 _'Still, a wish-granting cup? Seriously?'_ Naruto asked in a skeptical tone.

 ** _'Don't forget, we're in a different world,'_** Kurama pointed out, **_'For all we know, this wish-granting cup could actually be the real thing.'_**

The massive fox paused for a second, **_'It might even help us get back home.'_**

 _'…fine. I'll believe these guys. For now,' _Naruto complied.

"well, assuming you guys are telling the truth, if this cup can grant any wish, then why doesn't everyone involved just share it?" Naruto asked.

The priest and the magus both spent a second in silence as they tried to wrap their minds around the blonde's complete 360 degree shift in attitude.

"Well, the Grail itself decided that only one person is worthy enough to hold it. That person is the Master that survives till all the other Servants are dead," Kirei said after a while.

 _'The cup is sentient now!?'_ Naruto mentally exclaimed incredulously.

"So? Any questions?" Kotomine asked.

Naruto let out an evil laugh, "Oh ho ho, get ready, Mr. Priest. The amount of questions I have is ridiculous."

Kotomine felt the sudden urge to kill the blonde brat right then and there.

* * *

An hour passed and finally the questioning session had come to an end. Kotomine, as the overseer of the Fifth Holy Grail War, had been forced to explain all sorts of thing to the spiky blonde haired teen. From "what are Noble Phantasms" to "how to use command seals".

Rin had already dozed off thirty minutes ago and he honestly felt like just killing the boy to get some much needed rest.

Elders needed their sleep too, you know?

Plus, it was extremely late and the darkness in the church was not helping.

When the infuriating brat finally said that he had no more questions, Kirei actually almost jumped in joy.

He managed to restrain himself at the last second though. He wasn't about to ruin his image just because some blonde boy had driven him up the wall.

The two worked together to rouse Rin from her blissful sleep and as the duo were walking out the grandiose church doors, Kirei unveiled the speech that he had prepared over the course of his explanation,

"Rejoice, young man, for your wish has come true!" He stated dramatically.

Naruto squinted his eyes and gave him a confused look, "My…wish?"

Kirei gave the boy a condescending smirk, "Yes. Your wish of doing something of worth, something that holds meaning, something that doesn't involve you just sitting and doing nothing."

The shadows seemed to darken with each word that left Kirei's mouth.

"Wh-what are you talking about? How did you get to that conclusion?" Naruto asked, his voice wavering.

Kirei's smirk widened, "You're tired of passively sitting on the sidelines aren't you?" He asked rhetorically, as if he already knew the answer, "That's why you didn't try to back out of this war even once. You gathered information, learned more about the situation, but not once did you try to withdraw from this war."

"Th-that's-"

"-Because you finally felt a sense of duty." Kirei interrupted, "The feeling of working for something greater than yourself. That is your wish. You wish for direction, for purpose, for _duty._ You wish…for something to strive for."

Kirei's eyes bore into Naruto's soul, "Just try to deny it, Uzumaki Naruto, a small part of you is happy that a horrible event like this occurred."

"I-I…" Naruto trailed off before he could even say anything.

 _'He's not wrong. Not fully wrong that is. Ever since arriving in this world, all I could do was sit and laze around as Sasuke and the others tried to find a way to this dimension. I hate it. I've always strived for something, be it Hokage, world peace, or saving Sasuke. There was always a clear next objective in my mind. Now though… now all I can do is wait for the people on the other side to find a way to come get me.'_

He glared at the priest and clenched his fists, _'This bastard… he's not wrong, and… I hate him for it. I hate him for noticing this part of me before even I did. This guy… absolutely pisses me off!'_

The priest gave a mock bow, "Have a safe trip."

* * *

"Naruto, have you concluded your business here?" Saber asked as her Master and Rin walked out the metal gate.

Naruto glared at the ground in front of him and answered in a barely audible voice, "Yeah."

"And?" Saber asked.

"And what?" Naruto asked, confused at what she was asking for.

"Have you decided to fight as a Master?" Saber clarified.

 _'I didn't even think about not fighting in this war. A normal person would have at least had some reservations in fighting in something like this. Damnit, I just proved that bastard priest correct,'_ Naruto angrily thought to himself as he hoarsely told Saber, "Yeah, I've decided to fight as a Master."

He gave her a weak grin and held out his fist, "Let's kick some ass!"

Saber looked at her Master in confusion and a bit of veiled worry at his odd behavior, "What are you doing, Naruto?"

Naruto gawked, "Eh? You don't know what a fist bump is?"

Saber shook her head.

Naruto's grin brightened as he instructed her in the fine art of fist bumping, "First, you hold out your fist."

"Like this?" Saber held out a fisted gauntlet and asked, unsure.

"Exactly!" Naruto commended, "Then you press it against my fist. Like this!"

Saber did so and found herself asking a question, "What does this… fist bump signify, Naruto?"

Naruto put his hand behind his head and gave her a toothy smile, "It means we're friends!"

Saber almost recoiled in surprise, _'Friends?'_

Naruto brought back his hand and raised it towards the sky, "Even if I don't have any chakra, I'll make sure to win this crazy ritual," he said to himself as he clenched his hand into a fist, as if he were grabbing the stars, "That's a promise!"

Rin looked on in amazement as she stood on the sidelines, _'Just a second ago he was so shaken up that he could barely speak, but now…'_

She sighed, _'You're an extremely optimistic person aren't you, Emiya-kun?'_

Her eyes narrowed, _'Too optimistic. That optimism might just end up getting you killed.'_

* * *

The walk back was spent in total silence since each participant was absorbed in their own thoughts.

 _'Kurama, what did you find?'_ Naruto asked.

 ** _'That guy… the amount of negative emotions he was leaking out was unnatural'_** Kurama informed.

 _'Unnatural? Unnatural how?'_ Naruto asked, confused.

 ** _'First of all, he was simply leaking too many negative emotions for an average human, and second, for some reason, the negative emotions were… leaking out of his heart,'_** Kurama explained.

 _'His… heart?'_ Naruto asked, trying to make sure he heard right,

 ** _'Yeah. Most of the negative emotions I sensed coming from him, were actually leaking out of his heart,'_** Kurama said, **_'That guy is someone you have to be extremely wary of. I'm pretty sure he's not a normal priest.'_**

 _'Gotcha,'_ Naruto assented.

The group of three walked some more before they reached an intersection and Rin halted.

"Emiya-kun, this is where our paths diverge."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Tohsaka?"

Rin turned to look at Naruto in the eye, "I brought you here because you weren't officially my enemy yet," she explained, "but now, you're a fellow Master, Emiya-kun."

Naruto scowled, "Are you saying we shouldn't hang out because we're enemies?"

Rin nodded, "Exactly. We're enemies in this war, so talking is the last thing we should be doing."

Naruto gave her a fed-up look, "Why not be enemies and friends at the same time?" He asked, stretching out his fist towards her, "I don't want to kill you and, since you helped me, I don't think you want to kill me either. Once this is all over we can stop being enemies and just be friends right?"

Contrary to his expectations, Tohsaka did not agree; instead, she gave him a fierce glare,

"You know, Emiya-kun, this war is much more dange-" She started but was cut off by her own Servant,

"Rin, if an easily slain enemy presents himself, then we ought to take the chance," Archer said, materializing.

Saber subtly tensed.

Fortunately for the blonde haired duo, Rin did not comply with her Servant, "You don't need to tell me that, it's just…"

"It's just that you're a nice person," Naruto finished for her easily.

Rin turned to him and pinned him with a sharp glare, "Flattery won't save you from me. I'm taking pity on you for tonight but come sunrise, I won't hesitate to take you down!"

Naruto held up his hands in a placating manner, "Right, right."

"!"

Suddenly Saber turned and visibly readied her entire body.

"Naruto!" She called out in warning.

Naruto and Rin both caught on in an instant and prepared themselves for the upcoming fight as they too turned around.

Right in front of them were two contrasting figures. One was an extremely muscular and large man, while the other was a small girl that looked like a child. The child-like figure was garbed in European style purple clothes, while the large muscular figure was decked out in skirt-like armor that went from his midriff down to his knees.

All in all, the two made quite a terrifying pair.

The girl wouldn't have looked so frightening by herself, but the casual, innocent smile that she had on her face while standing beside such a beast of a man that reeked of death, made her look positively spine-chilling.

 _'I can't believe I let such a large guy blindside me! I should have noticed him immediately; I really need to stop getting so lost in my thoughts,'_ Naruto mentally admonished himself.

"So, are you done talking?" The small girl asked politely.

Rin gulped, "Berserker?"

The white haired girl flashed Naruto a courteous smile, "Good evening, Onii-chan. I'm glad to see that you've decided to participate in this war."

 _'…Does she know me?'_ Naruto wondered, _'I know I've never seen her before…' _

The girl garbed in purple took a few steps forward, closed her eyes, and curtsied, "It's nice to meet you," she greeted, "My name is Illya, Illyasviel von Einzbern."

She opened an eye to give Rin a provocative look, "You recognize the name Einzbern, don't you?"

Rin narrowed her eyes, "Einzbern…"

Naruto forced out a grin as sweat dripped down the back of his neck, _'This guy… if we had some time to prepare then we could probably fight him, but from the look of things, a surprise face-to-face battle will probably end up with us losing.'_

"I'm astonished," Rin informed, "In terms of raw ability, that thing outclasses Saber."

"It's incredible," Archer commended, "that Servant could face the other six alone."

"Meaning we can't defeat this opponent through brute force, huh?" Rin said, frowning.

"Archer, you should use your class's usual methods," she ordered without taker her eyes off the hostile duo.

"What about defense?" Archer asked.

Rin looked towards her other two companions, "There's three of us here," she pointed out, "at the very least we'll be able to hold it off."

"Understood," Archer complied as he jumped away to find a good vantage point.

Rin took a glance at Naruto and expected to see him cowering or at least trembling a little,

But…

All she found was the blonde Master calmly gazing at his opponent as if this situation was a common occurrence for him.

She gulped.

Why?

Why did he look so calm? Why did he look so at peace?

This was a battlefield.

So why was it that he looked like he belonged here?

* * *

"Are you done with your planning?" Illya asked with a smile.

Tense silence answered her.

"Well then, I'll kill you now," she stated in a peppy tone, "Get them, Berserker."

Berserker let out an earth-shattering roar and appeared in front of Naruto in an instant.

The mad warrior gave Naruto a horizontal slash with his giant axe-sword but Naruto jumped just in time and back-flipped over the slash and out of his range. Saber, sensing an opportunity, dashed from under Naruto's back-flip and tried to inflict a fatal blow on Berserker.

But Berserker wasn't a Heroic Spirit for nothing.

Berserker leapt back and dodged Saber's blow, and as soon as he landed, seven arrows came flying from the distance and crashed straight into the white-haired girl's Servant. Instead of simply piercing through like normal arrows, these one exploded on impact, covering the mad warrior in smoke.

"We got him!" Rin yelled excitedly.

The smoke cleared and Berserker simply stood there, unscratched, as if the last few seconds simply hadn't happened.

Archer clucked his tongue while Rin took a step back.

"It had no effect?" She asked, horrified.

Naruto glanced around and noticed something, _'That Illya girl went into the forest already. She knew that if we couldn't take Berserker, then we would just have Archer kill her.'_

"Ignore Archer's arrows Berserker!" Illya's voice rang out around them, "They can't do anything against your Noble Phantasm anyway!"

Naruto's eyes narrowed at her words, ' _Berserker's Noble Phantasm? It's already active? Is that why he just took Archer's arrows with no effect?'_

He glared at the spot that Illya previously occupied, _'She didn't mention anything about being able to take Saber's attacks and Berserker dodged her slash. Does that mean his Noble Phantasm has the effect of rendering projectile weapons ineffective? Or is it that, unlike Archer, Saber's weapon is powerful enough to pierce his defense?'_

 ** _'Whatever the case, it seems like Saber's sword is the only thing that will work on that meaty fleshbag.' Kurama said._**

 _'We don't know that,'_ Naruto pointed out, _'his Sanity's gone, so maybe he just dodged Saber's attack on instinct.'_

 ** _'If that was the case, then he would've dodged Archer's arrows too,'_** Kurama rebutted.

 _'Oh yeah, I guess you're right,'_ Naruto conceded.

He could just feel Kurama's smug smirk, **_'Obviously, there's no way I, the mighty nine-tails, would be wrong.'_**

Naruto's eye twitched while Saber tensed her leg muscles,

"Prepare yourself, Berserker!" She yelled before she appeared before him and gave him a left to right downward diagonal slash to the chest.

Berserker easily blocked it and the two locked their feet in position as they clashed their weapons against each other for dozens of times under a split second.

"That guy's sword skills are way too good!" Rin complained, "How the hell does he qualify as a Berserker!?"

Berserker blocked another blow before he back-flipped out of Saber's slashing range. As soon as he landed, he used his formidable leg muscles to leap straight at Saber with a horizontal slash. Saber blocked the mighty blow, but Berserker's momentum, combined with his strength, sent Saber flying away.

The entire exchange didn't even take a second.

Saber recovered from her unexpected flight easily and landed on her feet before she leaped back, away from her opponent, and settled inside a graveyard.

"Follow her, Berserker!" Illya's voice rang out.

Berserker let out an unearthly roar and chased after his petite opponent.

The two Masters watched him leap off before Rin opened her mouth to warn the blonde boy to run away,

"…"

In the end... she couldn't say anything.

She tried, she tried her best to make some kind of sound.

But… before the words could spill out of her mouth, the image of the orange wearing blonde calmly gazing at the enemy flashed in her mind.

How could she say anything if he made an expression like that?

So she closed her mouth, swallowed a lump in her throat, and ran off into the forest, intent on finding the Master of the Einzberns and distracting herself from that haunting image.

The haunting image of the cheerful boy waiting for the battle to start with a small smile on his face, as if _this_ was where he truly belonged.

* * *

 _'What's with her?'_ Naruto asked himself as he watched Rin run off, ' _I was a hundred percent sure she was going to say something. Did I make her angry or something?'_

He shrugged, _'Well, whatever. Right now I have to focus on the battle,'_ He casually thought to himself, _'I can't take Berserker on, so the next best choice is to take down that Illya girl. Rin probably thought the same thing, and that's also probably why she ran into the forest.'_

He turned his head to look at the general direction of where Archer was supposed to be situated, _'Archer can't track that chibi Master with all those trees blocking his vision, so Rin is on her own against her.'_

 _…_

 _'I'm worried…'_

* * *

RIn was not doing well against her opponent. True, the enemy she was fighting was a chibi, but that chibi was extremely skilled. So skilled in fact that Rin had her ass handily handed to her.

The chibi's sass just made it worse.

Grrrr, that annoying little girl pissed her off!

"Besides," She mockingly mouthed, "what do you expect me to say to someone who's going to die here, huh?"

She wasn't going to take that comment lying down. All she had to do was climb back up the small ledge and destroy the four autonomous, white-colored, sparrow shaped familiars that formed up her enemy's defense.

Simple really, since she had just the tool for the job.

* * *

"Huh? A frontal assault?" Illya asked, surprised, "That's brave but foolish, Rin."

Rin's glare intensified as she took out a green gem shaped like a square from her back pocket, "We'll see about that!"

She threw the gem in front of her, which then proceeded to glow and expand into a rectangular shield that revolved and kinda looked like a door without hinges or a handle.

"Gandr!" Rin yelled, throwing up an arm in her firing position and shooting out two fast moving red orbs.

The four sparrows shot beams akin to lasers at Rin, but the attacks were unable to bypass the giant door-like shield protecting her. In response, the red orbs flew towards the sparrows and both orbs managed to make contact with their targets and eliminate them.

Rin smirked and was about to fire two more Gandr shots to take down the rest before one of sparrows morphed into a sword and broke through her shield and came flying at her.

She was barely able roll to the side to dodge the sword that easily broke through her defense,

 _'The familiar changed shape!?'_ She asked incredulously.

Illya's smirk widened as her remaining sparrow followed the other sparrow's example and morphed into a sword, "You may have fended of Zelle, but you won't be able to block Degen."

She let out a small sigh, "I thought this was going to be fun; how disappointing."

The sword took aim and flew towards her at speeds she couldn't possibly react to…

...Only to swerve back and block a speeding grey projectile heading towards its creator.

"A…shuriken?" Illya observed.

"So that flying sword is an automatic defense, huh?" Naruto's voice dissected as he walked out of the woodwork.

"Even if you yourself don't notice the danger, that sword will protect you automatically. Seems like it can be easily destroyed though," he said to Illya as he walked up to Rin.

"Yo!" He greeted cheerfully.

"Y-you idiot! Why are you here? You can't def-" Rin abruptly stopped as the _that_ image once again flashed through her mind.

"Hey, Rin. You okay?" Naruto asked, worried.

She glared and forcefully ignored the memory in order to scold the boy, "Get away! There's no way you can defeat her without any magic!"

Naruto gave her a "duh" look, "Obviously. It's clear that those uhhh, what was it called again?" Naruto asked.

"Degen," Illya helpfully supplied.

"Thanks," Naruto said before he turned to Rin, "It's clear that physical objects, like shurikens, can't destroy those Degen things. I don't know about missiles and the like though."

Rin gaped, "...THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE IF YOU KNOW THAT!?"

Naruto covered his ears, "OW! WHAT THE HELL, LADY!? IS THIS HOW YOU TALK TO SOMEONE WHO SAVED YOUR ASS!?"

Rin huffed, "First of all, I took you to the church, so we're even. Second, I'm yelling at you because you're doing something INCREDIBLY STUPID! You know you don't stand a chance against her, so why are you here?"

Naruto gave her a confused look, "When did I say I don't stand a chance? To be honest, it's really easy to take down this Degen thing, if we work together that is."

"Really easy?" Rin asked.

"Yeah," Naruto said as he showed her eight shurikens held in between his fingers in both hands, "All I need you to do is enhance these with your magic."

Rin looked down at the grey, obsolete weapons, "Shurikens? What are you, a ninja?"

Naruto chuckled and gave her an enigmatic smile, "Something like that."

Rin scrunched up her face in confusion before she sighed and enchanted the shurikens with enough magic to destroy a Degen, "Are you even any good with those?"

Naruto gave her a confident smirk, "Just watch."

"Do you really think I'll let those hit my defense?" Illya asked as she summoned her other sword back to her.

"You don't have a choice. When your Degens were in bird form, they shot their cool laser beams to deflect Rin's Gandr shots, but in this form, your flying swords can't block these. When those things are in sword form, they make an excellent attack in exchange for becoming a poor defense," Naruto said.

Illya chuckled, "And I suppose you'll throw some shurikens at me so that my Degens block it and break, and then you'll proceed to throw the rest to kill me?"

Naruto shrugged, "Sounds about right; I have eight shuriken, while you only have two Degens, you know?"

"I can make more," Illya informed him.

"False," Naruto rebutted, "The moment you try to make more, you'll be open for me to kill you."

"That's a bluff and you know it," Illya accused, "my defense is automatic, so I'll have plenty of time to make more while you take them down."

 _'Heh, let's hope she falls for it,'_ Naruto thought to himself as he made a face of false bravado, "Do you want to take the chance? Go ahead, I won't stop you."

Illya felt a bit of apprehension crawl up inside of her stomach, _'Why is he still readying his shuriken? Does he have a plan?'_ She asked herself before she shook her head, _'No, if he did, then he wouldn't have tried that pathetic bluff. Those shurikens are probably a final desperate attempt to survive. I have the complete advantage here.'_

Naruto swung his left arm two times. For the first swing, he let loose one shuriken, and for the second he let loose the other three left in his hand.

At the same time, one of the Degens moved right in front of its creator to protect her while she brought up both her hands to her hair to create more of its brethren, at the same time, the second Degen took off at an incredibly high speed towards the blonde haired boy.

It all happened in an instant.

Illya created four more Degens, while the three shurikens thrown in Naruto's second swing all ricocheted off of Naruto's first thrown shuriken in three different angles. One destroyed the Degen protecting Illya, another destroyed the Degen screaming towards him, and the last one destroyed a Degen that had just been created.

Illya gulped. The last Degen had been destroyed way to close to her face. It had only been around a millimeter away from her head since it had just been created after all.

The newly created, other three Degens quickly took a defensive position around her and transformed into sparrows.

"H-how?" Illya asked, a little shaken.

"You had the right idea," Naruto commended, "You thought the shuriken only travels in a straight line, so you came to the conclusion that I would first throw my shuriken at you, wait for the Degen to be destroyed, throw another shuriken, wait for the other one to be destroyed, and only then would I have a clear path to hit you. If you think about it, then you're correct; that would buy you more than enough time for you to make reinforcements. In fact, you thought that even destroying _one_ Degen would take too much time, and that's why you sent the other Degen to attack me."

Naruto grinned as his cerulean eyes lit up ominously, "Too bad I expected you to do exactly that."

Illya took a step back.

"W-what?" She asked, suddenly feeling as if rats had decided to run around in her insides.

"It's the logical conclusion. When you have the advantage, you will try to use that advantage to the fullest. It's the course of action that makes the most sense," Naruto explained, "The deciding factor was that the advantage you thought you had, didn't exist in the first place. I could tell from our conversation that you didn't really know all that much about shuriken-jutsu."

Illya clenched her fists, "So I lost because I lacked information…"

Naruto nodded, "Yep. You overestimated your position in this battle, and trying to keep you from suspecting otherwise, was the most challenging part of this entire battle."

Illya mulled over his words before realization struck her, "The bluff…"

Naruto nodded again, "Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner!" He cheerfully announced, "You're exactly right. If I had just started the battle without saying anything, then you would have suspected that something was wrong. It's pretty suspicious when an enemy walks into a battle he knows he can't win."

 _'I see,'_ Rin thought to herself, _'That's why he made that obvious bluff. It was an act to look desperate and show that he was grasping at straws.'_

She glared at the blonde Master, _'There's something about you, Emiya-kun. Something strange. Even if a normal person knew this shuriken-jutsu thing, there's no way they would have been able to hit one of those targets. Specifically, the Degen that was attacking you. You would've had to know its travelling speed to predict where to throw that shuriken, and the only time you could've seen and figured that out was when it came flying towards me. No ordinary person would've been able to calculate the Degen's speed and predict its movement just by seeing it move at full speed once.'_

Her frown darkened, ' _Not to mention…that expression you had on when we first saw Berserker…'_

Illya took a deep breath and fixed her opponent with an intense stare, "That was a tricky attack, but I wouldn't be so smug if I were you," She said grinning, "I have three Zelles now; I can stop your attacks before they reach me or my defenses."

Naruto casually shrugged, "True," he admitted, "But it doesn't suit you to bluff, chibi-magus."

Illya glared at him for the nickname, "What do you mean?"

"Don't pretend you don't understand," he said playfully, "You already get it don't you? Your main disadvantage is the fact that, unlike you, I have an ally to help me out."

"That only increases your chance of winning," Illya rebutted, "There's no guarantee that you'll win. In fact, you only have four shuriken left, so the support you can provide is limited."

"Also true," Naruto said, "In the end, our chances of winning this battle are about equal."

Illya tensed.

"Soooo, let's just not fight!" Naruto suggested cheerfully, clapping his hands.

"Huh?" Rin and Illya both asked at the same time.

"Yeah!" Naruto said, "If we both have an equal chance of losing, then let's just not fight! That way, none of us will have to take the risk of dying today!"

Illya gave him a blank expression for a few seconds before she chuckled, "Heh! You're funny, onii-chan. Very well, I suppose retreating now wouldn't hurt."

She walked into the woodwork before turning to look at Naruto one last time, "But you made a giant mistake, onii-chan. This was probably the best chance you had to kill me, once I go back to Berserker's side, none of you will be able to do anything against us."

Naruto gave her a challenging smirk, "Oh really?"

Illya nodded, "Of course," she responded with child-like innocence, "There's no one stronger than Berserker after all."

"…"

They waited until her footsteps disappeared before they relaxed their muscles.

Naruto looked towards Rin and gave her a teasing grin, "Hey, you're welco-"

Rin didn't let him finish. She pinned him with an accusing glare, "You let her get away."

Naruto blinked, not understanding what he did wrong, "Well…yeah. I even explained why I did…"

Rin shook her head, "No, not that!" She yelled, "That last shuriken of yours could've easily been aimed at her head, it hit the Degen beside her head after all! That was your best chance! Why didn't you take it!?"

"Well, she let you enchant my shurikens, right?" Naruto asked owlishly, "So I repaid the favor; she gave us a chance, so I gave her one."

"…"

 ** _'Liar,'_** kurama accused, **_'The only reason you didn't take that chance was because you thought that killing a small girl was too disturbing. Well that, and because you don't kill "good" or "tragic" people.'_**

 _'…I feel like she would yell at me if I told her that,'_ Naruto explained.

Rin face-palmed, "You're really unbelievable, Emiya-kun."

"Oi, is that meant in a good way or bad?"

* * *

BOOM!

Another gravestone had been smashed through by that monstrous axe-sword. Saber felt sorry for disrespecting the dead by using their gravestones as cover, but at the moment, this battle was much more important.

So she abandoned all useless thought and focused on defeating the giant of a Servant in front of her.

Berserker roared once again (he did that a lot) and charged towards her. Saber ducked under his horizontal slash and tried to stab him.

Unfortunately, Berserker's instincts were too honed for such an obvious attack to work.

Berserker kicked his leg up in an effort to disarm her, but Saber easily disengaged in time by leaping back. They had been going back and forth for a few minutes now, and it was clear that she had the slight advantage, but she couldn't do anything more than pressure him.

Every time she tried to deliver a fatal blow, Berserker would display his overwhelming agility and slip out of the situation.

"I'm impressed, Berserker. You must have been a hero of quite some renown to have this much skill," Saber commended.

Berserker roared and sent a vertical slash towards in response. Unwilling to receive such a response, she dodged to the left, a place still ripe with gravestones, and stood there to bait him into attacking.

Berserker wasn't exactly in the clearest state of mind, so he charged in without thinking of the consequences and sent a flurry of blows at her. Saber nimbly evaded each one by using the gravestones to slow him down and block his sight of her before she spotted an opening.

"Hah!" Saber yelled as she repelled the giant's sword and brought down her own.

SLASH!

It cut him, but not deep enough to be fatal.

"Don't you dare lose, Berserker!" Illya's voice rang out from the woods, just as Naruto and Rin came stumbling out of the woods themselves.

"Eh? Naruto?" Saber asked, confused at why he was still at the site of battle.

"Yo, Saber! We just got back from fighting that chibi and totally kicked her ass!" Naruto notified her cheerfully.

"Liar!" Illya's childish voice rang out again, "it was a draw! You even said so!"

"Whatever you say, chibi," Naruto said patronizingly.

"Grrrr, kick Saber's ass, Berserker!" Illya yelled angrily.

"Oi! Kids shouldn't curse!" Naruto reprimanded.

"Shut up!" Illya hollered like a kid denied candy, "I'm not little!"

"Pffft, riiiiight," Naruto sarcastically said, making it clear exactly what he thought of her statement.

"Naruto!" Saber wisely interrupted their banter before it could escalate, "You should run while you have the chance! This place is dangerous!"

Naruto picked his ear uncaringly and said, "Meh, it's fine."

"H-how Can you be so calm? You have no way of defending yourself!" Saber asked, distressed.

"It'll be fine," Naruto placated, "Besides, I think you should focus on your opponent."

Saber opened her mouth to argue, but felt her instincts flare up like a freaking firework.

She leaped backwards, and looking at the spot she previously occupied being turned to rubble, she was glad she did.

Saber landed and primed her weapon, "Here I come, Berserker!"

She took a step, and used that step to propel herself towards her opponent.

"Hyah!" She roared, as she gave him a particularly hard blow combined with her impetus.

Berserker blocked, but even he couldn't keep his sword in place with a blow like that. Saber took that opening and tried to slash upwards at his abdomen, but Berserker pivoted to her right and brought his sword down to meet the sword coming towards his face now.

CLANG!

The two warriors clashed, but neither gave ground. They stayed there, locked in a power struggle, before Saber once again retreated.

It was obvious after all. Saber used Mana Burst; a skill that allowed her to release her magical energy at the precise moment she struck. That is what allowed her to match her opponent's strength, even with such a petite body. Mana Burst only worked when she struck, so a power struggle was an extremely disadvantages position for her.

Not to mention that she chose this battlefield because it allowed to amplify her dodging, and slowed down Berserker by a small amount. A straight up fight would end in her loss, she had to use her advantage to its fullest.

"Come, Berserker," Saber commanded calmly.

Berserker roared and launched himself towards her in an effort to smash her head with his weapon.

Too bad she dodged and all he managed to get was another gravestone.

The smoke from the destroying the gravestone clouded his vision for only a second.

But as they say; "In a battle, a second's distraction is enough to guarantee your loss."

And Saber wasn't the type of person to let a chance like this go.

She rushed in and took off his head before he even had any time to realize what was going on.

"You were a worthy foe, Berserker," Saber praised, "It is a shame I could not trade names with you, I would have liked to know yours."

* * *

On the roof of a building, hundreds of meters away, Archer sighed.

"You did good Saber," he complimented as he materialized a weapon in his right hand, "But unfortunately, it wasn't enough."

* * *

Back in the graveyard, a new head started growing from Berserker's flat neck. First, the raw flesh regenerated in a grotesque manner, before the skin grew to cover up all the new organs that had just been reformed.

It was like watching some kind of a monstrous example of partial asexual reproduction.

"He regenerated?" Rin asked, horrified, "From that!?"

Illya chuckled, "Heh, to absolutely defeat Berserker, you have to kill him twelve times!"

Naruto squinted his eyes in confusion, "Twelve times?"

"Yep! Twelve times!" Illya confirmed, "Your Servant must have been quite the hero in life if she managed to take down even one of my Heracles's lives."

"Heracles!?" Rin asked, shocked, "You mean _that_ Heracles!?"

"Of course!" Illya said merrily.

 _'They're talking about this Heracles guy like he's a big deal, but I still have no idea who he is or what the hell he actually did,"_ Naruto nervously thought to himself.

Saber prepared herself for another assault while Rin said something incredibly strange,

"Eh? What do you mean "get clear", Archer? You're not going to-"

 _'Get clear? Is that guy…?'_

 _…_

 _'Shit!'_

Naruto leaped straight into the graveyard and ran up to Saber.

"Emiya-kun!" Rin yelled in warning.

"Get us away from him, Saber!" Naruto yelled desperately as he took her hand.

"Wh-what?" Saber asked, horribly confused.

Naruto looked up and spotted a glowing red projectile heading towards them at high speeds,

"Just do it! Please!"

Saber was confused, but her Master's desperate face easily cemented her decision for her.

She pulled him close to her in a swift motion and _leaped._

Just in time too.

As soon as they took to the air, the entire graveyard exploded in flames. The fiery blaze almost reached them, but the force of the explosion propelled them just out of range.

The unceremoniously tumbled to the ground before regaining their vision and looking up to try and make out what had happened.

The entire graveyard was covered in flames that doused the entire scenery in a vivid yellow and orange. In the middle of the setting stood a hulking giant of a man, unconcerned with the flames eradicating everything around him.

Berserker.

He was just standing there, as sturdy as ever, with no signs of damage on him.

It made for quite an intimidating sight.

"N-no way…" Naruto heard Rin say from afar, "He blocked a rank A Noble Phantasm?"

 _'Blocked? The guy who was ignoring all of Archer's arrows up till now, decided to block just this once?'_ Naruto thought to himself.

"Did she say he _blocked_ a rank A Noble Phantasm?" Saber asked in a weak voice.

"Hooo," Illya made an impressed sound, "Your Archer's pretty skilled, Rin."

Berseker turned towards Saber again and the blonde duo tensed, "You still wanna fight, huh?" Naruto asked, a little nervous.

"There's no need for that," Illya told them, "I'll let you guys go for now. I don't want to get rid of all the entertainment in one night."

"Heh! You running away?" Naruto asked tauntingly.

"Don't worry, Onii-chan," Illya assuaged, "We'll see each other again soon enough. Let's go, Berserker!"

Berserker growled a bit before he took a massive leap and disappeared into the forest to pick up his Master.

The three waited until the giant thudding footsteps died away before all three relaxed themselves.

Well, Naruto relaxed himself way more than Rin or Saber did.

 _'Whew! That was intense!'_ Naruto thought to himself, _'I haven't gone through something like that in a long while!'_

 ** _'Get used to it,'_** Kurama ordered, **_'Remember, you're gonna have to go through all this for sixteen more days, at most.'_**

 _'True.'_

 ** _'Plus, don't tell me you didn't enjoy that,'_** Kurama said in an amused tone.

 _'Eh? How do you figure that?'_

 ** _'Well, if you didn't enjoy that, then you wouldn't be smiling right now.'_**

 _'I'm…smiling?'_

"Naruto I am confused," Saber said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Why are you smiling?"

Naruto laid down on the ground, put his hands on the back of his head, and gave her an enigmatic smile, "I have no idea."

Saber frowned, "I…see."

The two relaxed there for a few seconds before Rin came up to them with a strange expression on her face, "Emiya-kun… Archer and I…we'll be leaving now. Don't forget that we're enemies after tomorrow, okay?"

She swiftly walked away without waiting for a response.

"..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow as he watched her go, _'What's with her?'_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note - I played through the Heavens Feel route, and I gotta say, It's pretty good. I take back what I said earlier, I'm definitely putting some elements of Heavens Feel inside this story.**_

 _ **For those of you who are worried that I'll simply make Naruto do exactly what Shirou did, don't worry. The more the story progresses, the more these events will diverge from the original plot line.**_


	7. Buried Issues

**_Author's Note – First, I would like to address some concerns,_**

 ** _1._** ** _For those of you who are asking why Kurama's seal hasn't broken down yet, or why Naruto isn't dead due to lack of chakra. The answer is that chakra is still circulating inside his body, the world is just suppressing him so much that he can't utilize it. 0 Jordinio 0 is right, comparing him to Lee is probably the most accurate explanation._**

 ** _2._** ** _0 Jordinio 0, the problem with your comment…is that you're completely right. Well, mostly. He can't take in Nature energy since the world is actively suppressing him, and while he did have the option to train like Lee, he simply didn't because he thought that this world didn't require combat abilities and that when Sasuke came to rescue him and brought him back, he would get all his old abilities back. Other than that, it's true, I wanted Naruto to face overwhelming opponents with barely any skills in his arsenal to keep him pressured and constantly in danger. Kind of like canon Naruto. Almost every major enemy he's faced has been overwhelmingly powerful, and the only way that he's been able to defeat them is through surprising strategies, allied help, or both. I wanted to try and capture that very same feel. So basically yeah, in short, I nerfed him so that he doesn't just murder stomp everyone._**

* * *

"Naruto, we should go on the offensive," Saber suggested as the duo walked home.

Naruto grinned, but otherwise kept silent. He almost looked like a child who was barely keeping himself from letting slip an exciting secret.

"Naruto?" Saber called out curiously.

Naruto's response was an entertained snigger.

* * *

Naruto locked the door behind him as he took off his shoes and looked around, "Saber, check the house for any familiars," he asked in an amused tone.

Saber was confused with her Master's order but decided to trust his judgement and did as she was told. She might not have been perfect for this job, but her Master couldn't even sense magic apparently, so the job fell to her.

After thoroughly scanning the house, she walked into the living room to find Naruto relaxing at the table, leisurely eating a cup of ramen.

She felt her eye twitch, _'At least help, you lazy bastard.'_

"Ah, Saber! What did you find?" Naruto asked excitedly as he straightened his back.

"Nothing. It seems your suspicions were incorrect, Naruto," Saber reported.

"Nah, it's just as I thought," Naruto casually denied, "I just wanted you to check in case I was wrong."

"What do you mean?" Saber asked.

"Right!" Naruto said, noisily slurping his ramen, "Sit down, then I'll explain everything."

"…Very well," Saber complied, sitting opposite of him on the table.

As soon as she sat down, Naruto gulped down the rest of his broth and spoke up, "So, Saber, how many more times do you think you can fight without receiving additional mana from me?"

Saber took a moment to judge her reserves before she said, "I should be able to fight at optimal efficiency for six more battles."

Naruto's eyes widened a bit, "Oh? Our situation's better than I expected."

Saber gave him a small smile, "Yes," she agreed.

"What about your Noble Phantasm?" Naruto asked.

Saber expression tightened, "I believe it is best if I do not reveal exactly how much energy my Noble Phantasm takes. It is the same situation with my true name; if I reveal it to you, then any decent magus will be able to read your mind and gain a large advantage over us."

Naruto gaped, " _That's_ what you were worried about? I thought you didn't tell me because Rin was there!"

Saber nodded, "That too, but this is the main reason."

Naruto chuckled, "Don't worry about that," he reassured, "I can't use magic, but reading my mind is absolutely impossible. My mind is always protected by a rabbit-eared guardian angel."

 ** _'Brat, I…will…MURDER YOU!'_** Kurama roared.

Naruto made a face of pure bliss, "Oops, sounds like I made it mad."

Saber raised an eyebrow, "What?' She deadpanned.

Naruto casually waved a hand in front of his face, "It doesn't matter," he dismissed, "Basically, even if you tell me your true name or Noble Phantasm, no one will be able to read my mind and find out."

Saber debated the pros and cons of revealing her true name for a few moments before she stood up, put a hand on her chest and introduced herself in a grandiose manner, "My name is Artoria Pendragon, The Once and Future King, also known as the King of Knights."

Naruto gave her gentle smile as he too stood up and offered his hand, "Pleased to meet you, Artoria-san."

Saber stared at the hand in mild surprise before she realized that based on her Master's previous actions, this wasn't actually that surprising at all, "Yes, it is a pleasure to meet you Uzumaki Emiya Naruto," she said with a small smile, shaking his hand.

* * *

"Now that we have introductions settled, let's get to work," Naruto said.

"I concur," Saber agreed succinctly, "Please tell me the plan you have prepared for this war."

Naruto put his head on the table and cushioned it with his arms, "Alright, let's start with what you said while we were walking back home," he started, "You said that we should go on the offensive, correct?"

Saber gave a firm nod, "Yes, and I still stand by my suggestion."

"Yeah, well, the problem with that plan is that we're kinda already on the defensive," Naruto said.

"What!?" Saber asked, surprised.

Naruto waved his hands carelessly, "Don't worry, it's part of the plan."

Saber sighed, "Naruto, please explain everything thoroughly, without leaving out any of the details."

Naruto brought his hands together in a resounding 'CLAP' and started his explanation, "Okay, so first of all, we have to acknowledge the fact that while Fuyuki isn't the largest city in the world, it's still pretty big. Blindly searching for the other six Masters is likely not gonna get us any results. So, what do we do?"

Saber responded with a glare, "Please do not extend this discussion with pointless questions. You have already planned all of this out, so please just explain what strategy you have employed."

Naruto pouted, "Fine, take out all the fun from this," he whined, "I was doing such a great Shikamaru impression too…"

"Naruto," Saber warned.

Naruto raised up his hands in a placating manner, "Right, right, anyway yeah, where were we?"

"You were going to explain how we were going to find the other Masters," Saber replied.

"Right! So, if we're having this problem, then that means they're having this problem too, right? No matter how amazing a magus you are, if you don't even know your targets, then how do you expect to find them?" Naruto asked rhetorically.

"True," Saber admitted.

"Anyway, so if we let our hideout's location slip, then we can expect our enemies to attack us, right? That way, we don't have to find them and they'll simply come to us!" Naruto explained.

"So we are to use ourselves as bait then? It is a viable strategy, but I don't see how you can advertise our location without letting the enemy know that this is a trap," Saber said.

"Huh? Oh that? That's already done," Naruto announced casually.

"Already done? You've already laid the bait? How?" Saber asked, confused and more than a little surprised.

It made little sense after all, Naruto couldn't use magic and he simply hadn't had the time to employ any ideas that he might have had.

So how was it that he'd already laid the bait?

"I didn't, you did," Naruto corrected, "Think about it. There are seven Masters in this Holy Grail War. At least _one_ of them has to be decent magus. After all, this ritual _is_ a fight to the death between _mages_. Not all of them will share my special circumstance."

"And?" Saber prodded.

"Well, the amount of mana you guys were throwing around down in that cemetery must have attracted _someone's_ attention. I bet all the competent Masters sensed that fight. There's no doubt that at least one of those Masters sent a familiar to investigate," Naruto clarified, "Berserker's attack came at a perfect time."

"Is that why you did not say anything when I suggested we go on the offensive?" Saber asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yep. I didn't want any familiars following us to hear my plan. Now that they think that they managed to find our hideout without us finding out about it, they'll attack us when they think we're most vulnerable. Namely, when we're sleeping."

Saber was still a little confused, "So why did I find no familiars lurking around the house or inside it?" She asked, "You said that you expected that, that means you know the reason, correct?"

Naruto eyes lit up with dangerous glee; commonly known as the 'Oh shit, take cover! Naruto's about to prank the hell out of someone!' look, in Konoha.

"The familiars followed us back to our hideout to discover our location, but they don't want to risk us finding out. If we find out, then we'll prepare traps and get ready for an attack, which will make their task a lot harder for them," Naruto explained, "Simply put, there's no way they'll take such a huge gamble just on the off chance that they'll catch a little bit of more info. It's just not worth it,"

"I see. Yes, that makes sense and your plan could work," Saber agreed.

"Our main advantage is that you're a pretty strong Servant. Most Servants would probably lose against you," Naruto evaluated, "Our main weakness, on the other hand, is the fact that I can't give you any mana unless I use up a Command Seal. It makes things a little difficult, but I probably only need to save up two for mana while I can use the last one for emergencies. It actually all depends on how much mana your Noble Phantasm takes."

Saber looked down at the table, "…One use from my Noble Phantasm takes up almost everything stored up in my reserves," she confided.

"…Shit. That means I can't use a single Command Seal for anything other than restoring your mana," Naruto said.

"yes, that would be wise," Saber said.

Naruto sighed, "Anyway, every time we go to sleep, we should loosely tie a string around our wrists and connect them to the them to each other's string, so that if something happens then the other person will know immediately and the enemy won't find out since the loosely tied string will easily come off."

Saber cocked her head, "Why is that necessary? I shall sleep in your room."

Naruto nodded absentmindedly, "Yeah that makes sen- wait what!?"

Saber cocked her head in confusion again, "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah there's a problem! It's weird! Guys don't sleep with girls unless they're at least intimate!" Naruto exclaimed.

 _'…Or unless we were on a mission in the Elemental Nations, but there's no way I'm telling her that; she'll just use that point against me,'_ he continued in his mind.

Saber frowned, "Naruto, you are- "

Naruto put up a hand to stop her, "Besides, if you sleep beside me, then enemies won't take the bait. There's two possible things the enemy will do,"

He brought up his index finger, "One: the enemy will try to kill me. If that happens, my guardian angel will instantly wake me up and I'll at least be able to survive until you arrive to back me up."

He brought up his middle finger to join his index finger, "Two: the enemy will try to capture me to learn all the info I have and then kill me."

He grinned viciously, "Capture is the option we want them to choose; if they capture me, then we will get the location of their hideout, which will give us a massive advantage."

"How? Isn't it better to fight them in familiar terrain?" Saber questioned.

"If we want to kill them, then yeah," Naruto agreed, "That's not what we want though; we just want to know where they live."

"Why? It would be much wiser to simply defeat our enemies," Saber said.

Naruto sighed, "Simply killing the enemy sounds better, but it's actually not. Look, if we know where their hideout is, then we can _act_ rather than _react_. We can create a plan of attack, we can make alliances and attack together, we can trade our info to get new info, or we can also let the info slip and let the other Masters and Servants do the work. It's a much more advantageous course of action overall. So if the enemy abducts me, then wait a bit and _then_ come rescue me."

"If the enemy knows that we know their hideout's location, then won't they set traps and expect us? This will make our work much harder for us, won't it?" Saber pointed out.

Naruto chuckled, "Heh, do you really think that the enemy can put traps on every single entrance? No matter what someone does to protect all the entrances to their home, there's always a way in. Plus, the amount of pressure we'll put on them just by them knowing that we could attack any time gives us a huge advantage."

Saber reviewed his plan, "hmmm…"

Naruto shrugged, "Besides, worst-case-scenario, they leave and find a new hideout. Even at the end of that scenario, we gain a new back up hideout!"

Saber froze as a thought flashed into her mind, "...Naruto, that situation you described, isn't that the exactly same situation we are in? Our enemies know the location of our hideout and there's simply no way for us to set a trap on all the ways in."

Naruto nodded, "Yep! Now you know what a giant gamble we're taking. We're using a plan that puts us at a disadvantage to find our enemies. The only difference is that no one is expecting us to prepare a counter-attack."

Saber sighed despondently, "I…see," she raised her head with fire in her eyes, "Naruto, I cannot allow you to be purposefully captured. This plan of yours is efficient, but puts you too much in harm's way. I cannot agree to it."

Naruto waved his hand carelessly and gave her gentle smile, "I'll be fine, and I know that I won't die. A hero always arrives at the last minute, and you're an ancient hero aren't you? I have faith that you'll arrive just in time to save me."

Saber's cheeks tinged red for a second, but she managed to wrestle it under her control just as fast, "V-very well, I shall not fail you. That is my vow, the King of Knight's vow."

Naruto closed his eyes and unleashed a bright smile, "Thank you."

* * *

They talked a little more, mainly about the details of Saber's Noble Phantasm, before they decided to call it a day and went to sleep. Saber insisted on sleeping in the room directly adjacent to her Master's, and Naruto honestly had no reason to object.

As they set up the futons, Saber, now dressed in a white shirt adorned with a blue ribbon, over a blue skirt and black stockings, spoke up to voice a concern that had been floating around in her mind for some time now, "Naruto, this plan of yours makes sense, but it is all based on the assumption that at least one Master noticed the battle between Berserker and me, consequently decided to send a familiar to tail us, and found our hideout."

Naruto raised a brow as he adjusted his favorite froggy pajamas (he'd started cheering like a lunatic when he'd finally been able to find pajamas with a design extremely similar to the one he'd used in the Elemental Nations), "And?" He prompted.

"As good as this plan is, it is still just based on an assumption. What if that assumption turns out to be wrong?" Saber asked.

"If no one attacks us after a few days, then we'll think up new plan. Simple," Naruto said.

Saber shook her head, "We will simply end up wasting a lot of time like that."

"Exactly. This gamble is a lot larger than you think. It's not just about betting our lives, it's also about betting our advantage and time," Naruto explained.

Saber frowned, "I do not think that making such a large bet is wise…"

Naruto shrugged, "Too late for that. let's just hope this gamble pays off."

Saber furrowed her brow but did not complain any further, "Very well, good night, Naruto."

Naruto watched her get into her futon out of the corner of his eye before he walked into his own room and responded warmly, "Yeah, good night, Saber."

* * *

Ring, Ring!

Click.

"Hello, Emiya residence," Naruto asked tiredly.

"Naruto!" Fujimura's cheerful voice called out, "Good to hear that you're actually awake by ten o' clock. I'm glad that you're getting over your bad habit of sleeping in on the Sundays."

"Yeah, it's great," Naruto sarcastically agreed, "Unfortunately I'm making lunch, so I can't really talk right now. Good-b-"

"WAIT!" The brash teacher called out.

"OW! TAKE IT EASY WITH THE YELLING, LADY!" Naruto admonished, holding out the phone in front of him to prevent further ear damage.

"WHO THE HELL'S YELLING NOW, HUH PUNK? DO YOU WANT YOUR ABSOLUTELY, DROP-DEAD SEXY TEACHER TO DIE?" Fujimura yelled right back.

"SEXY!? WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? IS IT HIRATSUKA-SENSEI? IT'S HIRATSUKA-SENSEI, RIGHT? IT'S GOTTA BE HIRATSUKA-SENSEI!"

"Y-YOU BRAT! I'M A THOUSAND TIMES SEXIER THAN HER AND YOU KNOW IT!"

"Pfft. Yeah, right," Naruto sarcastically said.

"WAAAAHHHH," Taiga cried dramatically, "NARUTO DOESN'T LOVE ME ANYMORE!"

Naruto sighed, "Fine, fine. Whatever, I'm sorry. Happy?"

"Of course! I knew I was a thousand times sexier than Hiratsuka-sensei!" Fujimura stated, satisfied.

Naruto face-palmed,' _Wow, she bounced back fast,'_ he thought as he said, "I wasn't apologizing for the sexiness comment, y'know? I still stand by what I said; Hiratsuka-sensei is a lot sexier than you."

"Kuh!" He could almost see her grabbing her heart in an overly dramatic manner, "D-damn it! I won't lose!"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Naruto brushed off uncaringly, "More importantly, what did you call me for?"

"Oh right!" Fujimura exclaimed, finally getting back on track, "Naruto, I forgot to bring lunch, can you please make and bring me some?"

Naruto's response was delivered clearly and without hesitation, "No."

"W-wait! What do you mean no!?" Fujimura hysterically asked.

"No means no; I'm busy," Naruto explained in a dull tone.

"Pleeeeease!" Fujimura begged, "I'm sooo hungry! I need food!"

Naruto listened to Fujimura's pleas devolve into incoherent babbling for a few seconds before he sighed, "Fine. Wait for me, I'll be there in around twenty minutes. I've already started making lunch."

"Yay!" Fujimura cheered, "Thank you Naru-chan! I knew I could count on you!"

She then proceeded to cut the phone.

Naruto put the phone back in its rightful place and sighed again,

 _'Leave it to Fuji-nee to inconvenience me like this.'_

Even though he kept complaining about her troublesome habits, he couldn't stop the small smile from creeping up onto his face.

 _'Well, I've got no choice now. Let's just get this over with,'_ Naruto motivated himself.

* * *

"Saber, no one is going to attack me in broad daylight," Naruto tried to explain.

"Even so, it is my duty to protect you. I cannot let you wander alone outside," Saber said.

Naruto's eye twitched, but he didn't argue any further, "Fine, let's get going. I don't think Fuji-nee's going to be able to handle waiting any longer."

Saber smiled in satisfaction, "I'm glad you understand."

* * *

The walk to Homurahara academy was spent in comfortable silence. Nothing out of the ordinary really happened other than Saber acting a bit suspiciously in her overbearing vigilance against possible enemy threats.

"Welcome to my school, Homurahara academy," Naruto faux grandiosely introduced, "The Archery dojo is this way," he said, leading her.

"Naruto, I sense a large amount of lingering magical energy here," Saber informed.

"Is there anything dangerous about it? Can you tell why it's here?" Naruto asked.

Saber shook her head, "No. Although I do believe this magical energy might be Rin's. She is a powerful magus; no matter how much she may try to hide her magical energy, some will naturally flow out."

"I see," Naruto said, putting a hand on his chin,

 _'Wait a second. Why didn't you tell me about this before, Kurama?'_

 ** _'…Hmph.'_**

 _'…Really? Is this about the "rabbit ears" thing? Are you still angry about that?'_ Naruto asked incredulously.

 ** _'I'm not saying anything until you apologize,'_** Kurama said.

 _'…Seriously? You're freaking centuries old! Get a grip, you goddamn fox!'_ Naruto exclaimed.

 ** _'Hmph. No apology, no information,'_** Kurama huffed.

Naruto glared at the ground in front of him, _'Tch, fine. I'm sorry I said that you had rabbit ears. Happy?'_

 ** _'Heh, I'll take it,'_** Kurama accepted with a satisfied grin.

 _'Now, this energy signature, why didn't you mention it?'_

 ** _'Because it didn't exist before today,'_** Kurama answered, **_'Or to be more specific, there was lot less lingering magical energy before today. That magical energy was probably that Rin brat's. Now though, something new has appeared.'_**

Naruto's glared at the school building as his eyes glowed with frightening intensity, _'If this new thing turns out to be dangerous to the innocent people in this school, then…'_

Saber glanced at her Master out of the corner of her eye and barely suppressed the urge to shiver, _'This boy… he doesn't know magic and his combat ability is probably nothing to boast about, so why is it that he looks so… terrifying?'_

"Here we are," Naruto announced, his features brightening up.

Saber nodded to show that he heard him but did not say anything.

"I'll be eating lunch inside, so go ahead and explore the school as much as you want," Naruto told Saber as he slid open the door and stepped inside.

* * *

"Yo, Mitsuzuri," he greeted as the brown haired girl arrived at the entrance to investigate who had arrived.

"Ah, hello, Uzumaki-kun. I assume you've brought Fujimura-sensei's lunch?" She guessed.

"Yep!" Naruto confirmed cheerfully, "Is she waiting inside?"

"Yeah," Mitsuzuri answered, sighing, "Seriously, get some food in her as fast as you can. All she's been doing for the past twenty minutes, is create chaos."

Naruto face-palmed, "That sounds like her alright."

He started walking inside but was stopped by the captain of the Archery club,

"By the way, Uzumaki-kun, who is that blonde beauty outside? Your girlfriend?"

"Please don't make weird jokes like that," Naruto asked in a dull voice, "She's just a friend who came to visit from overseas."

Mitsuzuri nodded, "I see. How boring," she complained, "Well whatever, hurry up and feed Fujimura-sensei before she ends up destroying the dojo."

"Sure, sure," Naruto said as he walked past her.

"Oh, Senpai? Why are you here?" Sakura asked in a surprised tone as he walked inside, "Could it be that you…?"

"Yeah, I'm here to give Fuji-nee her lunch," Naruto said.

"O-oh, I see," Sakura said in a disappointed tone.

"I brought enough for the three of us so let's eat together," Naruto suggested.

Sakura smiled cheerfully, "Y-yes Senpai! That sounds like a great idea!"

* * *

'Whoo!" Fujimura cheered, "Now that I'm full, I can finally concentrate again!"

"Oi, Fuji-nee, I'm not your personal delivery boy," Naruto said in a flat voice, "I won't bring you lunch again if you forget it the next time."

"Tch, we'll see about that," Fujimura challenged.

"Eh? Why are you making it your goal to convince me to bring you lunch the next time you forget? Shouldn't you make it your goal to try and not forget your lunch in the first place?" Naruto asked exasperatedly.

"Heh, heh, heh," Fujimura chuckled evilly.

"…"

"Anyway," Naruto started as he stood up and dusted his pants, "I gotta get going for now. I'll meet you guys at the front gate once you guys are done, don't forget to bring the bento."

"Aye, aye!" Fujimura saluted as she ran off to direct her students

"Sorry for making you wait, Senpai," Sakura apologized, "If you want, you can go home right now. You don't have to wait for us."

"Nah," Naruto said, waving off her concern, "I actually have some business left in school, so Fuji-nee calling me was pretty convenient. Don't tell her that though."

"I see. Good luck with your work then, Senpai," Sakura politely said, slightly bowing her head.

"Yep, thanks. Have fun with your archery," Naruto answered before he headed for the exit.

He walked out the door and closed it behind him.

 _'Now, where did Saber go?'_

* * *

Saber examined the man in the green suit and glasses in front of her. The man had no magic leaking out of him, nor did he have any weapons to indicate that he was a fighter.

Nonetheless, this man put her on guard.

Perhaps it was his gait, which wasted absolutely no movement, or perhaps it was his breathing, which was very precisely controlled.

She couldn't pinpoint why exactly he put her on guard, but if her instincts told her that something about this man was abnormal, then she would listen to it.

Those very same instincts had kept her alive for a long time after all.

"Ah, Saber! So this is where you were!" Her Master's voice called out from behind her.

The man in the green suit looked at the approaching blonde boy for a second before his eyes flicked back onto hers.

"Please refrain from wearing outdoor shoes inside the building," He told her in a smooth, calm voice before he turned and walked away.

"That was Kuzuki-sensei," her Master informed from beside her.

"He is quite a strange person," Saber told Naruto.

Naruto nodded, "I know. The first time I met him, I thought he was a fighter or warrior or something."

"It is admirable how composed he is," Saber praised, "He seems like a wonderful teacher."

"I wouldn't know. I don't really pay a lot of attention in class," Naruto said shrugging.

"That is not good, Naruto. You are a student and therefore should be studying. It is vital to your future," Saber admonished.

"R-right," Naruto half-heartedly agreed before he hurriedly changed the subject, "Anyway, how much of the academy have you explored?"

"I have looked at all the areas outside the school grounds and the entirety of the outdoor areas inside school grounds. Only the indoor areas are left now." Saber answered.

"I see, change your shoes, then come on. I'll show you around, it's a great place!" Naruto said.

* * *

By the time Naruto had finished showing Saber around, the sun had come down to the point that the school was painted a vivid red.

Saber was happy to say that she had found absolutely nothing significant or abnormal.

On the other hand, while Saber had found nothing of note, Kurama had actually found few areas where the new magical energy was leaking out from.

It's not like they could actually do anything about it though, so they just marked down the locations and moved on.

Saber had quickly changed her shoes and had already walked out of the building while Naruto was in the process of closing his locker when he heard Mitsuzuri's voice call out to him,

"Yo, Uzumaki-kun, I see you haven't left yet," She noted.

"Yeah," Naruto said, closing his locker, "Are you guys done?"

Mitsuzuri nodded, "Yep. Fujimura-sensei and Sakura are waiting for you at the front gate."

"Thanks for telling me, have a safe trip back home," He said as he started towards the main door and waved behind him.

"Wait, Uzumaki-kun," Mitsuizuri ordered in a serious voice that sounded quite out of place on her if you knew her.

Naruto turned back towards Mitsuzuri and asked, "Yes?"

Mitsuzuri looked at his face and stared him intensely in the eyes.

"...?"

"Hey, Uzumaki-kun… what are you looking at?" She asked as she cracked a small melancholic smile.

"…"

Naruto felt a pit of dread form in his stomach.

What was she...?

The ever-present grin on Naruto's face faded a little, "What do you mean? I'm looking at you, aren't I?"

Mitsuzuri shook her head sadly, "Not at all. Your face is turned towards me, your eyes are locked with mine, but those eyes… they see something else."

Why…? Why was she going there? That was...

Naruto's grin had fully faded by now, "My eyes… see something else? That's not…"

He felt like a mouse cornered by a cat. He knew what she was talking about, but he had instinctively kept that thought locked under the deepest recesses of his mind.

His classmate gave him a worried look, "Uzumaki-kun, it's almost as if you're in a dream. Instead of acting, all you do is react. The most I've seen you actively do is greet people. Every time you talk to someone, it's always the other person who starts the conversation."

...Give it up. Please, just give it up. Don't say it. Don't mention it!

"So? I don't see how that resembles a dream," Naruto asked quietly.

"Everything you do, it's like you don't care what the results of your actions are, it's like it doesn't matter to you, because you know that sometime soon you're going to wake up from this dream. You spend time with us, but you're never actually there," Mitsuzuri explained.

...Please...

They stared at each other in silence for a second before she spoke up again,

"That's why I'm asking you. Just what are you looking at? Why won't you even acknowledge reality?"

The metaphorical glass shattered and Naruto's hair shadowed his eyes as he let out a sad smile,

"...You're frighteningly astute, Mitsuzuri; You're the first one who's noticed this about me."

"You're not going to tell me, are you?" Mitsuzuri asked rhetorically, "You might seem like an open person, but out of everyone in class, I think you hold the largest amount of secrets."

Naruto's answer came out as a hoarse whisper, "…Yeah, you're right. About everything."

And she was. She had hit right on the mark with absolutely everything. To Naruto, this excursion to another world was a temporary thing. To him, it felt like Sasuke would arrive any minute now and take him back to Konoha.

What was the point of doing anything if he was just about leave any minute now?

He talked with his classmates when they talked with him, he followed the rules and lived life like a normal person, but his mind was always on what he would do when he got back home.

The fact that this world held no fighting only made this feeling worse. He, who had spent a majority of life on the battlefield, had to simply sit in a classroom and live life like a civilian for ten years.

It was a situation that only made his refusal to acknowledge this world worse.

Mitsuzuki's analogy was correct.

This place was like a dream and he knew it. A person who knows that they're in a dream goes along with what's going on, but they're mind is always on what they will do after they wake up.

The only people he had honestly made friends with in this school, were the people who had bullied their way into his life. Sakura, Fuji-nee, that asshole Shinji, Issei, and perhaps, Mitsuzuki.

All these people had pushed and pushed until he had accepted them.

How ironic; the person who had spent his life trying to get friends had to be forced to accept new friends in a new world.

"Uzumaki-kun," Mitsuzuri called quietly, "I'm sure that one day you'll reach whatever you're striving for, but please, until then, don't ignore your friends who are stuck living in this dream. We can't help it if your way of life makes us worry."

Naruto stayed silent.

"We're your friends, after all."

* * *

"Naru-chan, are you okay?" Fuji-nee asked tentatively as Sakura and Saber stared worriedly at the blonde boy.

"H-huh? Y-yeah I'm fine," he reassured in a subdued voice.

Fujimura gave him a worried look before she changed the subject, "By the way, who is the girl that's following us, Naru-chan?"

She jerked her head at Saber.

"Hm? Oh her? Her name is Saber, she came here to visit Kiritsugu, so I couldn't turn her away. She's going to be living in my house for now," Naruto informed in the same subdued tone.

"I see…" Fujimura acknowledged worriedly.

Naruto's frown deepened as he thought about what Mitsuzuri had told him.

It wasn't that Mitsuzuri's words made him feel bad for spending ten years of his life not acknowledging this world.

The problem went deeper than that.

To be frank, he did not want to acknowledge the fact that the way he was living in this world was, in an extremely simple word, _miserable_.

One should not live life like that, and the old Naruto would have immediately realized that fact.

So why didn't he?

That led to his next problem; he did not want to acknowledge the fact that he might have lost the core of his being which had made him "Uzumaki Naruto".

If hadn't lost that "core", then why had he continued with living with such a wretched lifestyle?

And, most of all, he did not want to acknowledge the fact that Sasuke might end up never finding him; that he might end up being stranded in this world forever, never to see his friends again.

All these thoughts and doubts led to single fundamental problem,

 _'I don't know what to do…'_

The problem was made worse by the appearance of the Holy Grail.

If he managed to obtain the Holy Grail, then what would he do next?

Would he give up on going back to Elemental Nations and live out the rest of his life in this world?

Or would he go back to Elemental Nations and leave all the people he had made bonds with in this world behind.

Not to mention that the Holy Grail itself, violated one the cores of his beliefs.

 _"There are no shortcuts!"_

Those were the words he had imparted on to both Konohamaru and Obito.

If he used the Holy Grail, a shortcut gained by murdering six other people, then he was a hundred percent sure that he wouldn't be able to call himself "Uzumaki Naruto" anymore.

What exactly was he supposed to do, then?

Where the hell was he supposed to go!?

He hadn't felt this lost since the time he'd fought with Pein…

But…

He sneaked a glance at the group of three following him.

They all had worried looks on their faces…

If he kept brooding in front of them, then all he would end up doing is worrying them.

He plastered a grin on his face and turned to look at them,

"Saber living in my house is fine, right?"

The three looked surprised at his one-eighty degree turn in attitude,

Finally, after a few seconds, Sakura spoke up, "Senpai, you said her name was… Saber, correct?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Yep. quite a unique name, right?"

Sakura didn't answer his question, instead, she balled up her hands and quietly muttered despairingly, "Why…? Why you, Senpai?"

Naruto, unable to hear her words, leaned in and asked, "I couldn't quite catch that, can you please repeat what you said, Sakura?"

Sakura desperately waved her hands in denial, "A-ah, it's nothing, Senpai. I was just talking to myself!"

Naruto squinted his eyes, "I… see?"

"Anyway!" Fujimura interrupted, "I'm tired now, so we'll talk later. Make sure to prepare for the questioning session, Naru-chan. Don't think that you'll get away so easily."

 _'…Crap.'_

* * *

By the time the group of four had reached the Emiya residence, the sun had already set.

Dinner was being made by Sakura (as usual) and the other three spent the entire time waiting in tense silence.

Once the food was set on the table, the four silently took a portion of what they wanted to eat, before Fujimura...

..."exploded", for the lack of a better word.

"WHAT THE HELL, NARU-CHAN!? WHY ARE YOU BRINGING RANDOM GIRLS INTO YOUR HOME!?"

Random girls?

Really?

"OI! DON'T MAKE IT SOUND WEIRD, YOU PERVERTED TIGER!" Naruto yelled right back, "AND WHAT THE HELL IS UP WITH THIS "NARU-CHAN" CRAP!?"

Both their chopsticks snapped in their respective grips at the exact same time.

"DON'T YOU THINK IT'S CUTE!? I'LL CALL YOU NARU-CHAN FOREVER NOW!" Fujimura heatedly explained.

"Oi, first of all, Naru-chan sounds stupid, and second of all, FOCUS ON THE IMPORTANT PART! I didn't take Saber in because I wanted to do whatever it is you're imagining me trying to do, I took her in because she wanted to visit Kiritsugu and had no place to stay!" Naruto argued back, breathing a bit heavily by the end.

Fujimura thought about the situation for a second before she offered a deal, "How about this: Saber gets to stay here, if you don't complain every time I call you Naru-chan, okay? Take it or leave it."

He didn't want to accept it.

He really, really didn't.

But this deal seemed like the easiest way to get her to consent to Saber's stay.

…

Ahhh, whatever. This was probably the best chance he would get.

"Fine," Naruto bit out, "Have it your way; I'll accept that deal of yours."

Fujimura grinned triumphantly, "I knew you'd see it my way!"

Naruto sighed despondently, _'The sacrifices I make…'_

He turned to look at Sakura, who was silently eating her food, absorbed in her own thoughts, "What about you, Sakura? Do you approve of Saber staying here?"

The purple haired girl looked a bit surprised, "E-eh? Why are you asking me, Senpai? This is your home."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "I know that, but even if this isn't your home, we're still your family. That's why I'm asking, what do you say about Saber living here?"

"..."

Sakura valiantly fought back her tears but barely managed to hide them by escaping into the kitchen under the pretense of washing her hands.

"...I-I think we should let her stay. It's not like she has anywhere else to go, right?" She said without turning her head.

Naruto smiled, "Well, there you have it, Saber. Welcome to the Emiya residence!"

"Thank you for accepting me," Saber politely responded, bowing her head.

"Ehehehe," Fujimura chuckled bashfully, "Don't worry, it was nothing."

"For now, let's finish our food," Naruto suggested, "Hey, Sakura! Can you please get us some more chopsticks?"

Sakura wiped off the remainder of her tears from her face before she turned back to look at the blonde haired boy, "Yes, of course!"

* * *

After the debate on whether Saber was allowed to stay in Emiya residence, the atmosphere lightened and dinner turned out to be a cheerful and pleasant affair filled with conversation.

For the most part, conversation revolved around asking Saber what her life was like back in her home country, Britain.

Naruto almost had a heart attack when the two other girls started interrogating Saber, since they hadn't really made a cover story yet.

Contrary to his expectations though, Saber managed to answer all their inquiries with resounding ease.

Seems like she was a lot shrewder than he thought.

"Wow, I want to go to Britain now," Fujimura exclaimed as she finished up the last of her food.

Naruto waved his hand casually, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Pass me the plates, Fuji-nee; Sakura and I will wash them today."

"Thank you!" Fujimura cheerfully said as she stacked up the plates and utensils and passed them to Naruto.

Naruto easily took hold of them and took them to the sink in the kitchen where Sakura was waiting.

He sighed, "Ready?"

Sakura gave him a determined nod, "Yep! Let's do this!"

Naruto and Sakura both put on gloves, an apron, and got a sponge before they started washing the dishes.

After a period of scrubbing, Naruto noticed something odd, "Hey, Fuji-nee!" He called out, "Why are you still talking to Saber? Isn't it about time for you to start getting ready to drop Sakura home? Sakura and I are almost done here."

Fujimura halted her conversation with Saber and gave Naruto a mischievous look, "There's no need for that."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Eh? What do you mean by that? Are you really going to tell her to take a taxi home? What kind of a teacher are you? I knew you were bad but this is just crossing the line. Seriously, I expected better fro-"

"Wait! Stop! Please stop!" Fujimura desperately held up her hand as she interrupted his tirade, "What I meant was that I don't need to take her back home, because we'll both be staying here!"

Naruto didn't hesitate for even a second, "No."

"E-eh? Lightning response? Why?" Fujimura asked, surprised.

"Because I said so, now scram." Naruto said, his tone quite dull.

"Hmph. I refuse to leave," Fujimura huffed.

Naruto sighed as he tried to think of a way out of this mess.

 _'There's no way in hell I can let them stay here; I've already made this entire house bait. if they stay here, then they'll be in danger too.'_

He thought for a few more seconds before an idea struck him.

"How about a bet, Fuji-nee?" He asked smirking.

"A bet?" Fujimura curiously repeated.

"Yeah," Naruto confirmed while washing his hands and removing all the equipment he'd put on for the cleaning session, "A kendo match, to be specific."

"No way," Fujimura instantly denied as Sakura and Naruto walked out of the kitchen, "I already know that you can defeat me, even though you have no idea how to use a sword."

"It's easy to react to your attacks. I don't need to know how to use a sword to win against someone as slow as you," Naruto boasted, "But I'm not talking about a Kendo match between you and me, I'm talking about a Kendo match between you and Saber."

"Naru-chan, just because someone's name means something, doesn't mean that they're instantly going to be good at that one thing that their name means," Fujimura reprimanded, "I mean- you can't create maelstroms out of nowhere, can you? It's the same with Saber: just because she was named after a sword, doesn't mean she's good at using one."

Naruto's smirk widened, "This should be an easy win for you then, right?"

Fujimura furled her brow, "Yeah, but I have a bad feeling about this. You're a really crafty person, Naru-chan; who knows what you've got up your sleeve."

 _'Wait, so she has complete confidence that she won't lose in a fair match? How egoistical can you get?'_ Naruto groused.

 ** _'Really? Is this really coming from you, Mr. it's-easy-to-react-to-your-attacks?'_** Kurama asked incredulously.

 _'All I said was the truth,'_ Naruto huffed.

 ** _'Yeah, I don't think taking pride in beating a twenty-four-year-old with some experience with a sword is really… something worth taking pride in.'_** Kurama stated, making his opinion known.

 _'Why? Seems like a perfectly reasonable thing to take pride in,'_ Naruto disagreed.

 ** _'Yeah well, it's a perfectly reasonable thing to take pride in, IF YOU AREN'T A DIMENSION HOPPING NINJA!'_** Kurama explained, practically roaring the last part.

 _'Fine, fine, geez. No need to get all prissy about it,'_ Naruto said, barely managing to restrain the urge to cover his ears.

"Fine. I accept that bet," Fujimura agreed after a large amount of deliberation that lasted for conveniently the same amount of time as Naruto and Kurama's argument.

Naruto chuckled, "Heh, and what about you, Saber? Are you okay with a Kendo match?"

Saber nodded calmly, "Yes, I have no problems. Please do not hold back, Taiga."

"Great!" Naruto said as he clapped his hands together enthusiastically, "Now, let's reconvene in the Dojo!"

* * *

THWACK!

"Gah! What the hell, you damn demon woman!? Why are you so strong!?" Fujimura yelled angrily as she tried to stand up again.

"Your technique is good, there are very few people who would win against you," Saber complimented, "Unfortunately, I am better."

"GAAAAAAH! YOU KNEW ABOUT THIS, DIDN'T YOU, NARU-CHAN!?" Fujimura accused, enraged.

"Obviously. I wouldn't have suggested this bet otherwise," Naruto admitted.

Fujimura grit her teeth loud enough that even Naruto and Sakura, who were standing about seven feet away from them - at the entrance of the dojo - could hear it,

"Damnit! I've tried to fight you seven times now, and lost every single time! This isn't fair!"

"Yeah? It honestly doesn't matter," Naruto dismissed, "You made a bet and you lost. Are you going to go back on your word? My, my, Fuji-nee, I didn't expect a teacher to be such a bad role model to her students. I knew you had bad manners, but for a teacher to go this far? I seriously didn't expect this from you. I should file a formal complaint about our teacher being a liar. Geez, how rotte- "

Fujimura, for the second time today, brought up her hands desperately and frantically interrupted Naruto,

"I get it, I get it! Please stop! I'll do it! We won't stay here, I promise, so please stop!"

Naruto grinned, "Now, please take Sakura back home. It's getting really late."

Fujimura melodramatically sighed and walked towards Sakura at a turtle's pace

"…"

"Any minute now," Naruto said tapping his foot impatiently.

Fuijmura promptly stuck her tongue out at him.

"Well, let's go, Sakura-chan. Looks like Naru-chan doesn't like us anymore," Fujimura said as she patted Sakura's back and turned to look back at Naruto with watery eyes.

"There's no point in trying to guilt trip me," Naruto informed dully, "Leave. Now."

Fujimura's eye twitched before she turned abruptly and walked out the dojo with an angry, "Hmph!"

"A-ah, I'll be back to make lunch tomorrow, Senpai!" Sakura yelled behind her as she was being dragged towards the front gate by Fujimura.

"I'll be looking forward to it!" Naruto called back, finally letting out the small smile that he had been fighting to keep under control while talking with Fuji-nee.

He watched the door that they had left from and only turned back to Saber when he heard the telltale sound of Fujimura's motorcycle driving off.

"Shall we go sleep, Naruto?" Saber asked politely with a small smile.

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let's go, Saber," Naruto responded, eager to get some rest.

* * *

Saber had already gone to sleep, and Naruto had been adjusting his futon when Kurama decided to speak to him,

 ** _'Brat, I think that Sakura girl might know something about this Holy Grail War thing.'_**

 _'What makes you say that?'_ Naruto asked curiously.

 ** _'Back when you told that Sakura fleshbag Saber's name, she started to leak an insane amount of despair and worry,'_** Kurama explained, **_'I can't think of any other why she would start despairing just by hearing the girl's name.'_**

 _'…I'll look into it tomorrow,'_ Naruto decided, _'I'll start by questioning Shinji. That fake priest said that the Matous used to have priority in the previous Holy Grail Wars before the magic circuits in their line died out. We have to make sure whether Sakura worrying about me is just because she knows that this war is dangerous, or because she or one of her family members is a Master,'_ he explained as he settled into his futon.

Naruto turned to his side and closed his eyes, _'I'll be counting on you to keep guard, Kurama.'_

 ** _'Hmph, don't tell me what to do, brat,'_** Kurama huffed.

 _'Always the tsundere, huh?'_ Naruto rhetorically asked as he instinctively reached out for the light switch and turned it off.

Kurama growled but decided to let the comment go in favor of letting the blonde boy sleep.

Naruto let the silence permeate around him as he tried to fall into blissful unconsciousness.

In barely a few minutes, he felt the comforting darkness reach out to him, but...

before the blackness could engulf him in its soothing embrace, a few haunting words descended upon the void and brought him back to jarring consciousness.

 _'Hey, Uzumaki-kun… what are you looking at?'_

The words that had been spoken quietly at the time, seemed echo inside his skull now.

He slowly cracked open his eyes and glared despairingly at the wall facing him.

 _'…Shut up…'_

* * *

 **Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto nor do I own Fate/Stay Night**

 ** _Author's Note (cont.) – Not a lot of action in this chapter, so I used this chance to reveal that Naruto isn't as okay as he makes himself out to be. Other than overcoming all his enemies, Naruto also has to overcome himself._**

 ** _P.S. -_** ** _So, during Ayako's… speech(?) I tried my hand in a different style of writing. I don't know whether it's an improvement or not, so please review and tell me whether you guys like it or not._**

 ** _P.P.S - For those of you who caught the SNAFU reference, don't worry. Hiratsuka won't appear in the story at all. I just needed another female teacher's name and I thought the context fit her well._**


	8. (Not) Another Normal Day At School

**Boken31 – As I said last chapter, Naruto thought that Sasuke would soon arrive to take him back, and everything - including his skills - would revert back to normal. That's also the reason why he didn't really practice. What was the point in training to improve when very soon, he would be back in Konoha with his old skills back? And no, Kiritsugu did not tell Naruto why the fire occurred. You might be right though, Canon Naruto might've trained to make up for his lack of abilities and might've become a second Lee. But, in my opinion, just because we know the character's basic personality and way of thinking, doesn't mean we know exactly what he's going to do in every situation. There are a multitude of decisions a character could make, and, for the sake of the plot, this is the decision Naruto made in my story.**

* * *

She was dreaming, dreaming about an anachronistic village.

Night had fallen and the village was lit up with lights and was bustling with activity. Looking over the village, was a massive cliff face with four large heads carved in them.

And in that village… a nine tailed fox suddenly appeared.

* * *

Saber gasped as she shot up from her bed.

 _'A… dream?'_

She shook her head to get rid of the foolish thought. She was a Servant, and therefore couldn't have dreams.

No… that monstrous nine tailed fox… it was a part of Naruto's past.

That was impossible though. She'd heard of nine tailed foxes before, but none were described to look so… _terrifying_.

She involuntarily shivered.

She'd only seen it briefly since she had woken up as soon as it had appeared, but… the amount of hate it was leaking… it was blood-curdling.

It was like watching the very incarnation of hate appear before her.

That… _thing_ was a part of Naruto's past?

 _'Naruto... what… what was that? Why does that thing register as one your earliest memories? …What exactly have you been through?'_

* * *

Naruto sighed, "Looks like no one attacked us last night…"

 ** _'You sound disappointed,'_** Kurama noted.

 _'Obviously,'_ Naruto responded, switching to talking with Kurama mentally so as to not arouse suspicion from anyone who walked in on him, _'The waiting period is worse than the actual combat period. If the enemy attacks, then that means our plan worked; if they don't, then that means we're forced to keep guessing whether the enemy is just waiting to attack us or whether they just didn't see the bait.'_

 ** _'Not to mention the fact that it's been a long time since you've fought and you're actually looking forward to it,'_** Kurama continued.

 _'Yeah I- Oi. I'm not looking forward to fighting,'_ Naruto denied.

 ** _'You and I both know that that's not true,'_** Kurama said.

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but didn't respond.

He folded up his futon and distracted himself by trying to guess what Sakura made for breakfast,

 _'Plain old scrambled eggs, maybe?'_ Naruto wondered.

 ** _'No way, that Sakura brat isn't one to make something so simple,'_** Kurama shot down.

"Hmmm," Naruto hummed to himself as he tried using the smell as indication.

 _'Oi, Kurama. That's…'_

Kurama face-palmed, **_'Yeah… it's ramen.'_**

Naruto fist-pumped. _'Awesome! The ramen that Sakura makes is insanely better than the cup versions!'_

Kurama sighed despondently, **_'That damn ramen addiction…'_**

* * *

Breakfast had gone by in a flash and it had been about forty minutes since Sakura had left for school when Naruto decided that it was time to get going lest he arrived late for class.

There was only one problem left to deal with before he left.

"I'll be fine. You seriously don't need to go with me, Saber."

"Naruto, you are not careful enough. That carelessness will get you killed," Saber admonished.

"Don't worry about me. Think about it; I'm going to school, so that means I'll be surrounded by students," Naruto argued, "No Master will be able to attack me with that many people around me."

Saber sighed, "Still…"

Naruto gave her a beaming smile, "Don't worry. I'll be back safe and sound in no time."

Saber took a look at his smiling face and felt her defenses crumble, "…Very well. I shall have faith in you. Please do not disappoint me."

"I'll do my best," Naruto promised.

* * *

Naruto had gotten to class in time and, as usual, he found himself in the student council's room with Issei before he knew it. Normally, he would've been distracted and unfocused even during lunch, but today was different.

Today, he had a Matou to hunt.

"Hey, Issei," Naruto called out.

Issei, who had been sleeping on the table, turned his head up towards Naruto and raised an eyebrow,

"Well this is a surprise; this is the first time I've seen you start a conversation."

Naruto's eyes narrowed a tiny bit, "Yeah, yeah, whatever," Naruto casually dismissed, "Let me continue, do you know where Shinji is? He wasn't in class today, I know that."

Issei closed his eyes as he thought about Naruto's question, "Hmmm, I don't think anyone told me where he is today. Knowing him though, he's either sick at home or out flirting with girls in an Italian restaurant."

Naruto grinned, "That sounds like him alright."

"That's great. Now let me sleep," Issei groused.

"Why're you so sleepy today?" Naruto asked curiously, "Did you stay up late? That doesn't sound like something you would do…"

"I didn't!" Issei denied, "It's just- no matter how much I sleep, I still feel sleepy all the time."

Naruto raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, _'Tch, why did Shinji have to miss class today of all times?'_

Several minutes passed before a steady knock came from the door.

"Looks like someone's here, Issei," Naruto informed, noticing that his friend wasn't getting up.

"Tell them that the Student Council is closed for today," Issei sleepily ordered.

"Ryuudou," Kuzuki-sensei's calm voice called from outside, "I need to talk to you."

Issei did not respond, mainly because he just didn't hear the bespectacled teacher.

"Oi, Issei. It's Kuzuki-sensei. Are you sure you want me to say that?" Naruto asked in an amused tone.

"Ah!" Issei yelled in surprise as he shot up, "I-t's fine! I'll go!"

He proceeded to briskly walk to the door and open it.

"Yes, Kuzuki-sensei?" He inquired.

Kuzuki looked inside the room and spotted Naruto. He greeted the blonde boy with slight nod that said blonde boy barely caught and returned.

"Let's talk in the hallway," Kuzuki suggested.

Issei, not one to disobey a teacher, nodded his head and walked out alongside Kuzuki.

* * *

It had been around two minutes when Issei opened the door and reentered the student council room with a grave look on his face.

Naruto, who had been bored out of his mind waiting for Issei, sprang up from his chair and asked excitedly, "What took you so long!? More importantly, what did Kuzuki-sensei say?"

Issei raised an eyebrow, "Hm? What's gotten into you today? You never care about what I do."

Naruto swept aside his claim with a wave of his hand, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm curious. Kuzuki-sensei told you something he doesn't want me to know, and that just makes me want to know more."

"What makes you say that Kuzuki-sensei didn't want you to hear what he told me?" Issei questioned.

"Don't play dumb. If Kuzuki-sensei was okay with me knowing, then he wouldn't have talked with you outside... Or it could be something private. In that case, you don't have to tell me anything." Naruto said, adding in the last part as an afterthought.

Issei put a hand on his chin and held a short mental debate within himself to decide whether he should tell Naruto what he had been told or not.

In the end the part arguing for telling the blonde haired boy won out, "Fine, I'll tell you. It's not like you're an outsider after all."

Naruto propped his hand up on the desk and leaned his head on it while Issei continued, "Yesterday, the school got a call from a family saying that their daughter hadn't come home yet… She… she still hasn't been found."

Naruto tried to but wasn't able to hold back a slight glare from appearing on his face.

"Don't stall, Issei. Who is this missing person?" He asked in a voice as frigid as ice.

Issei averted his eyes from the blonde's, "It's… Mitsuzuri Ayako."

Naruto's eyes widened.

 _"We're your friends, after all."_

He clenched his fists.

Strangely enough, rather than hot anger, he felt cold fury run through him,

"Issei, has anyone found any clues?" He asked in a calm yet dangerous voice.

Issei felt a shiver run down his spine, "N-no. The only thing we know is that the last person that Ayako was seen talking to before disappearing, was Shinji."

 _'Shinji, huh? It's too early to judge whether Shinji had a hand in Mitsuzuri's disappearance. But… he was the last person she was seen talking to so she may have told him some info like where she was going or something. Looks like I have another reason to hunt him now,'_ Naruto internally assessed.

"I see…" He said out loud.

Issei looked worriedly at Naruto before he noticed the time, "Oh! Looks like lunch is ending. Let's get back to class before we arrive late."

Naruto honestly wanted to start searching for Shinji immediately, but after putting some more thought into it, he realized that his best method of finding Shinji was probably asking the girls that he hanged out with…or Sakura.

To be honest, he was originally trying to find Shinji without alerting Sakura, but it seems like the situation had changed.

If he started his search now, then he probably wouldn't be able to get any results since Sakura and all the girls that he knew hung out with Shinji would be in class.

The best possible course of action was to wait till school ended, and then he would ask them.

"…Fine, let's go to class," Naruto agreed.

Issei breathed a sigh of relief, "Phew, for a second there, I seriously thought you were going to do something stupid."

Naruto forced a grin, "Heh, I'm not that dumb."

Issei shook his exasperatedly, "Only you think that."

"Oi."

* * *

School had ended, and just like every day, the sky had turned red, which in turn had dyed the entire school the same colour.

"Shinji? I'm sorry, but he didn't really tell me why he didn't come to school," A brown haired girl that Naruto had seen with Shinji before, apologetically stated, "I'm sure there's no need to worry. He probably just took a day off since he was sick or something."

Naruto sighed, "I see. Thank you for answering my questions," he politely replied.

"It's no problem, Uzumaki-san. If I see him, I'll definitely tell him that you're looking for him," the brown haired girl said.

"Thanks. That'll help a lot," Naruto responded before he turned and left.

He wandered the now empty hallways as he thought about his next course of action, _'Damn it. That was my last lead. Sakura already said that Shinji wasn't at home in the morning, so him being sick is out. What should I do? Should I ask the teachers?'_

He looked out the window as he walked, _'It's getting late… Damnit Shinji, this is all your fault! What the hell are you doing dating thirteen girls anyway!?'_

He turned left and walked up the stairs before a flashy red overcoat immediately snapped him out of his thoughts.

There, on top of the stairs stood the one and only, Rin Tohsaka.

Naruto casually raised a hand in greeting, "Yo, Rin. How's it going?"

Rin glared down at Naruto, "When the hell did you get on a first name basis with me? Actually no, that's not important right now. What I want to know at this moment is, how can a person be this dumb?"

Naruto's eye twitched, "Oi, what is this, Make-Fun-Of-Naruto day? Why's everyone calling me dumb for no reason?"

Rin face-palmed, "Emiya-kun, do you have a mental disease, or were you just raised this way?"

Naruto clenched his fists as the twitching in his eye increased in intensity, "Oi, just hurry up and say what you want to say. I have stuff to do."

Rin closed her eyes in dismay before she opened them to reveal her steel filled aqua colored irises, "Emiya-kun. You've gotten all the information about this war from that fake priest, and still you decided to come to school without your Servant. That's the most foolish thing you could have done."

Naruto casually stared at her with dull eyes as she continued, "Emiya-kun…I let you go last night, but don't expect the same courtesy today."

In a flash, Rin rolled up her left sleeve and pointed the unveiled arm marked with a giant blue glowing abstract tattoo at Naruto,

"I told Archer to go home. The 'Gandr Shot' in this magic crest should be enough to defeat you."

"Move, Rin. I don't have time to deal with you," Naruto said with an apathetic look on his face.

"Don't you understand your position here!?" Rin exclaimed angrily, "It doesn't matter whether you want to deal with me or not; you've already lost!"

Naruto let loose a tired sigh, "Oh? How do you figure that?"

Rin's glare darkened, "You've already seen how powerful my Gandr shot is. Even if you have some of those shurikens with you, as soon as you try pull them out, I'll use that opening to fill you with holes."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What if I try to escape?" He challenged, "This staircase has eleven stairs in total, including the top one. I'm on the third stair. That means there's eight stairs in between us; that's too much distance for me to cover to attack you, but that also means that I can escape into the hallway behind me. True, one of your Gandr shots will probably get really close to me, but it's still almost completely certain that I'll manage to escape this stairwell."

Rin's expression didn't change, "And then what?"

Naruto shrugged, "Didn't you say it yourself? You're pointing your 'Gandr Shot' thing at me and that's why I can't take out my shuriken, but… if I escape into the hallway, then I'll easily gain a large enough opening to take out and fire my shuriken."

Contrary to his expectations, Rin did not lose her composure. In fact, she let loose a predatory grin instead, "That's a good plan… too bad I already expected you to do that. Since I'm the one who decided to attack, I had plenty of time to try and predict how you would respond in a situation like this."

Naruto felt an amused smile creep onto his face, "So that's why you chose to attack me here. You already had the entire situation planned out, didn't you?" His amused grin widened, "So? What's this amazing counter of yours?"

Rin's voice and grin both involuntarily allowed a bit of pride leak through, "Reinforcement sorcery. Specifically, reinforcement sorcery applied on my legs. I've already calculated everything. With this, even if you use the corner as cover, I'll easily be able to catch up to you and fire a Gandr shot just as you're about to remove your shurikens from your pockets. Since I pre-applied the Reinforcement sorcery, I'll only be able to use it for one leap."

Rin's eyes danced menacingly, "That one leap though… it'll be more than enough to kill you."

 _'Looks like she's cornered me. The fact that I don't even have any shuriken with me just makes this situation even worse,'_ Naruto analyzed casually without letting his expression change.

 ** _'What? Why!? Why on Earth would you leave your weapons at home!?'_** Kurama asked incredulously, **_'You know exactly what situation you're in, and you still decide to leave your weapons at home? Why?'_**

Naruto gave Kurama a sheepish smile, _'I, uh, forgot to bring them with me.'_

Kurama looked gobsmacked ** _, 'You… forgot…?'_**

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, "Ahahaha, yeah…"

Kurama's eye twitched rapidly before he exploded, **_'You absolute DUMBASS! How the hell did you get so far in life with a brain like that? Do you even have one? How the hell are you even functioni-'_**

 _'Alright,'_ Naruto said as he clapped his hands together, _That's enough. If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit busy here.'_

 ** _'So? How do you intend to get out of this mess?'_** Kurama asked curiously.

Naruto smirked confidently, _'Simple. I'll bluff my ass off.'_

 ** _'…'_**

 ** _'Oi, Naruto… there's a limit to what you can say with a confident face,'_** Kurama groaned.

 _'Yeah, yeah. Just you watch,'_ Naruto assured, unruffled.

"Give up, Emiya-kun. You've lost," Rin stated with absolute certainty, "If you give up, then all I'll do is take your command seals and wipe your memory of this war ever happening."

Naruto shook his head and shrugged his shoulders, "Sorry, but I really can't do that. I don't know what I'll do with the Holy Grail, but I do know this. Saber wants it. Even after death she's fighting for it, and she trusted me to help her out. What kind of a friend would I be, if I promised to help her out and then gave up at the first opportunity?"

"…I see… so you won't give up. In that case, I'll have to kill you," Rin stated in a voice devoid of any emotion, "I already told you, didn't I? You've already lost."

She was about to fire her Gandr shot before Naruto interrupted her with a smirk and spoke up in an amused voice, "You've clearly put some thought into this."

His cerulean eyes started glowing dangerously against the vivid red atmosphere, "Too bad it wasn't enough."

"What? What do you mean?" To be honest her arm was getting really tired here and she really wanted to hurry it up, but a claim like that hit her pride at point blank range.

"It's true, if I try to take out my shuriken in the corridor, then you'll easily obliterate me, but… what if I try to summon Saber?"

Rin's eyes widened as Naruto continued, "The reason you thought you had me cornered was because if I tried to take out my shuriken while trying to get to cover, my mobility would be hampered and my chances of dodging those Gandr shots would significantly decrease. The same doesn't go for summoning Saber though. Putting my hand in my pocket restricts mobility, especially in these pants, but saying something, on the other hand, doesn't. At least, that's the case for me. If what you said about your calculations was true, then you already know that by the time I get around the corner, Saber will already be there."

Rin grit her teeth.

"And if I summon Saber, you'll have to summon Archer since I'm pretty sure that you don't have the skills to fight a Servant. At least, not Saber," Naruto predicted, "I know that Saber and Archer can't fight here since there are teachers on the first floor and the battle will no doubt end up being extremely chaotic, but… if I summon Saber, then you'll _have_ to summon Archer, because if you don't, then there's no doubt that you'll be defeated in an instant."

Rin remained silent while Naruto shrugged as he continued illustrating the hypothetical scenario, "If we both summon our Servants, then we'll probably both simply retreat. In this hypothetical scenario, we'd both end up using one Command Seal, and we would both suffer the same loss. Only… if that happened, you'd be put in a much more disadvantageous position than me, since you have only two Command Seals left, while I have three."

He menacingly pointed his index finger at her, "In a situation like that… I don't win… but you definitely lose."

"Kuh!" Rin took a step back.

 ** _'…Which part of that was a bluff?'_** Kurama asked as he analyzed Naruto's words.

 _'The part where I said that I would summon Saber,'_ Naruto informed, _'Everything I said is possible, but I won't summon Saber unless it's an absolute emergency. There's a classroom just around the corner. Even if she can shoot at me before I can take out my shuriken, I can dodge into the classroom and jump out the window to escape her. If I'm fast enough, that is.'_

 ** _'Why not just summon Saber?'_** Kurama questioned.

 _'There are seven Servants in this war. Out of those seven Servants, we've only seen four. Out of those four, we know the Noble Phantasms of three. Berserker's twelve lives, Saber's Excalibur, and Archer's… whatever that explosion was. My point is, we don't know anything about our enemies, and the ones that we do know about, are all extremely strong. We don't know when we might need Saber's Noble Phantasm.'_

His glare darkened as he thought about their situation, _'This situation is only made worse by the fact that Saber's Noble Phantasm uses almost all of her energy. We can't go around wasting Command Seals.'_

 ** _'So, it would've been risky, but you could have escaped anytime,'_** Kurama summarized.

 _'Well, Yes, but...'_

Kurama gave Naruto a questioning look but Naruto's focus had already resurfaced in the outside world.

"I… lost? Without even fighting?" Rin asked as she lowered her arm and took a step back.

Naruto stared at her with a silent frown as she continued, "How? How the hell did I lose against a normal person like you!?"

The blonde haired boy let her catch her breath before he answered,

"It's because we're friends."

Rin clenched her fists and glared at Naruto, "What kind of a vague answer is that!? That doesn't even make sense!"

Naruto stretched his fist out towards her and grinned happily, "It does. It absolutely does. Even if we haven't officially sealed our friendship, even if you say that we aren't friends, on the inside you still count me as a friend," he resolutely said, "I know this because you told me about the Reinforcement sorcery applied on your legs."

"What? Are you saying that I wanted you to defeat me? I'm a hundred percent sure that that's not the case," Rin huffed as she angrily put her hands on her waist.

Naruto casually waved his arm in front of him to show his dismissal, "Obviously that's not the case. That would be stupid. No… you already told me the real reason, remember? You were the one who said, "Give up, Emiya-kun."

Rin narrowed her eyes as Naruto's grin widened, 'Heh, that's right. If you were fighting me and you weren't my friend then you would have still asked me to give up, but you wouldn't have told me about the Reinforcement sorcery in case I rejected your offer of surrender and tried to escape you."

"I… wanted you to give up?" Rin asked, still a little confused.

"Yep!" Naruto chirped jubilantly, "you gave me all that info because you wanted me to see just how hopeless my situation was. You tried extra hard to get me to give up so that you didn't have to kill me. _All because we're friends._ "

"And because of all that information, you were able to make a counter strategy," Rin finished for Naruto.

"Heh. Exactly," Naruto said as he rubbed his nose, "So stop being so stubborn and fist-bump me already!"

Rin glared at the blonde boy, but… that expectant face of his made short work of her defenses.

She sighed before she flushed a bit and walked down towards him, but as soon as they got within three steps of each other, a loud scream rang out from the floor below them.

Instantly, the two Masters' expressions became grim as they gave each other a nod and shot down the stairs in an effort to locate the source of the scream.

They skidded into the hallway and ran through it until they found a brown haired girl unconscious and twitching in front of the emergency exit.

 _'That's the girl I talked to before I faced Rin!'_ Naruto noticed, _'It looks like she's unconscious… but, that twitching and labored breathing… it's abnormal…'_

"Rin, she's not just unconscious is she?" He asked gravely.

"…Yeah. It looks like she's been drained dry," Rin noted.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Drained dry? What's that?"

Rin bent down, took a green jewel out of her pocket and pressed it against the brown haired girl's chest, "It means that her life energy's been drained," she explained, sweating in exertion and concentration, "I can probably save her with this jewel…"

Naruto looked down at her in concern before a flash of silver caught his eye.

A stake connected to a chain flew towards Rin and would have easily gone through her face if Naruto hadn't brought a fist up and sent it flying upwards. One second, the stake was heading towards the ceiling, by the next, it had already been retracted back out the emergency exit.

Rin had a look of shock on her face, _'He… he deflected that? Impossible! No normal human could've deflected something moving that fast! Intercepting it if you know where it's going, that's within the realm of believability, but… to deflect it…'_

Naruto gazed at his hand, the hand that had just deflected away that silver stake, ' _I can see it.'_

A small grin creeped up onto his face, _'Looks like watching all these high speed battles is improving my eyes. My eyes might even reach their old level…'_

Kurama scrutinized Naruto as his slit ruby eyes narrowed, **_'No… no human can improve that fast… not even a shinobi. If I didn't know any better, then I would have thought that you're regaining the skills suppressed inside of you.'_**

 _'You mean that's not what's happening? If not, then what actually is?'_ Naruto asked, tired of his complicated circumstance.

 ** _'It's true that your eyes are improving because of all the high speed battles that you're trying to keep up with, but there's something accelerating that improvement,'_** Kurama explained, **_'Namely, it's your old skills. You're not regaining your old skills, but those very same old skills are helping you improve faster.'_**

 _'I, uh, totally get it,'_ Naruto said as he put a hand on his chin and squinted his eyes.

 ** _'You have no idea what I just said, do you?'_** Kurama deadpanned.

Naruto looked down at the ground and gave up his obvious lie, "Yeah…"

 ** _'Think of it this way; you'll get stronger faster than normal, but unless you find something to keeps the Earth's power away from you, you won't be able to actually defeat a Servant in a fair face-to-face battle,'_** Kurama simplified.

 _'What happens if I do find something to keep Earth's power away from me?'_ Naruto asked.

 ** _'Simple. As soon as Earth's power stops suppressing you, you'll get all your old powers back. From your instincts to your old skills. Even the physical stuff like your muscle memory. Everything in this body will be overwritten by the power that you had before. In other words, you'll get back everything. That's only as long as the Earth doesn't suppress you though. As soon as the Earth's power manages to make contact with you again, your powers will all recede back into your body and be replaced by the stuff that was raised in this world,' _**Kurama explained.

 ** _'...Probably,'_** he added as an afterthought.

Naruto looked at his hand again, _'I see.'_

 ** _'…'_**

 ** _'…Not to interrupt, but I think you have something to do,'_** Kurama reminded.

 _'Oh, right!'_ Naruto's head snapped back up as he focused on the outside world.

He turned his head to look at Rin and saw her holding a glowing green gem over the brown haired girl's heart with a look of intense concentration on her face.

"Oh? I'm surprised, Emiya-kun," she said as the gem disappeared and the glow died down, "I thought you would go straight after the person who threw that stake."

She wiped the sweat off her forehead, "Looks like we had the same idea. The attacker can't afford to make a lot of ruckus, so the only way that they can attack are from the entrances. That means, if we watch out for the windows and the emergency exit, we stand a higher chance in fending them off."

"Uh… yeah. That's totally why I stayed here and didn't chase after that person," Naruto laughed nervously before his tone became serious, "That was a Servant, right?

"Obviously. I didn't sense any magic being used, and only a Servant could throw a weapon that fast without magic," she paused for a second before she amended her sentence, "Well, technically there are a lot of beings out there who could have thrown something that fast, but this person was attacking us during the Holy Grail War and normal mages generally can't throw something that fast without magic. That's why I came to the conclusion that this was a Servant."

Naruto sweat dropped, "You really didn't need to explain all of that to me, ya know? I got what you meant at the start."

Rin bowed her head in seemingly sincere apology, "I'm sorry. I just thought that you were too dumb to understand the omitted parts without the proper explanation attached."

A vein throbbed on the side of Naruto's forehead, _'Seriously, this bitch…'_

Rin looked around a bit more before she slightly relaxed her body, "Looks like the enemy's gone. It should be safe to take her to the nurse's office now."

"Good, then you go and take her there," Naruto instructed, "I have something else to do."

Rin raised an eyebrow, "Where are you going?"

"Mitsuzuri's missing and the last person who was spotted speaking to her was Shinji," Naruto explained somberly, "I wanted to ask him if he knew anything but he was absent today. I already asked all the students who should know where he is but it seems none of them do, so I was going to ask the teachers whether they knew where he was."

Rin's eyes widened, "Ayako's missing? I see, so that's why you were in such a hurry before. Although, I have to ask, the teachers were downstairs so why were you trying to head upwards?"

"I wanted to check the third year's class in case he left one of his girlfriends a note or something that explained where he went. It was a long shot but I already checked our class, so I thought, 'why not?'," Naruto explained, "There was still some time before the teachers left so I figured that I had enough time to check there before asking them."

He leveled a pissed off glare at Rin, "too bad I don't have enough time for that anymore because SOMEONE decided to attack me."

"Even if I didn't attack you, this girl would have been attacked anyway; you still wouldn't have had time to inspect that classroom," Rin casually dismissed, "More importantly, why don't you check Shinji's house? He's probably sick or something."

"That's what everyone thinks, but Sakura said that he wasn't at home when she left in the morning,' Naruto informed, "So I at least know that he's not sick at home."

"He might've gone home by now though," he added as an afterthought.

"I get why the teachers didn't tell everyone that Ayako's missing, but how did _you_ find out, Emiya-kun?" Rin interrogated as she put a hand on her chin.

"Kuzuki-sensei told Issei, and after a bit of questioning, Issei told me," Naruto answered.

"That means that Issei wasn't really supposed to tell you, right?" Rin pointed out.

"Yeah, so? Where're you going with this?" Naruto questioned.

"Fujimura-sensei comes to visit you a lot, doesn't she?" Rin asked rhetorically, completely ignoring Naruto's question, "I think you should ask her, instead of _all_ the teachers here. The teachers all get the same info so if you ask just Fujimura-sensei, it won't make a difference."

Naruto squinted his eyes, "Why do you want me to ask only Fuji-nee?"

Rin raised her index finger in a manner reminiscent of a teacher, "If you ask only Fujimura-sensei, then along with information about Shinji, you can also ask for information about Ayako without getting Issei in trouble. You and Fujimura-sensei are quite close after all."

"You want me to ask about Mitsuzuri too?" Naruto inquired.

Rin nodded her head, "Exactly, she might've disappeared because of something to do with magic. The teachers may have found a clue that I can use but they can't."

She paused for a second before she lowered her finger and continued, "Plus, I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Go on," Naruto prompted.

Rin shook her head, "Not here. I'm pretty sure that no enemy Master is listening in, but it's better to be safe the sorry. Let's get this girl to the nurse's office, then let's go to my home and talk."

Naruto had a short mental debate on what do and the side which said listening to Rin was a good idea won out, "Fine, let's go," he agreed as he lifted the brown haired girl and put her on his back, piggyback style.

* * *

"You have a freakin' mansion!?" Naruto asked incredulously.

Rin flicked her hair back, "Impressed?"

Naruto glared at her but didn't say anything.

Rin let out a patronizing laugh, "Don't worry, your traditional Japanese house doesn't look bad either."

"How do you know what my house looks like?" Naruto asked, confused.

Rin blushed a bit, "I-I-uhhh it's because Fujimura-sensei told me!" She yelled out, "Yeah! That's why I know!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I…see…?"

Kurama face-palmed, **_'Naruto… you're one of the dumbest people I've ever met.'_**

 _'Eh? Why!?'_ Naruto asked, _'What did I do now!?'_

 ** _'Just… just don't worry about it.'_** Kurama sighed out, sounding like he'd given up on something.

 _'O…kay…?'_

Kurama watched Naruto interact with the black haired girl and privately wondered to himself, **_'She doesn't seem like the stalker type though...'_**

"Like I said, this won't take long. I just need to talk to you about something," Rin reassured.

"I hope so… Saber's probably already really pissed at me," Naruto nervously let slip.

"Then let's hurry it up," Rin suggested, "Follow me."

Naruto sighed but didn't resist. He figured that the faster this was over, the faster he could get home and temper Saber's rage.

* * *

"You want to team up?" Naruto asked, a little surprised. He had thought that she was too proud for this sort of thing, but it seems like she was a lot more practical than he thought.

"Didn't I just say that?" Rina asked snidely.

"Yeah… but I don't get why." Naruto told her.

"It's because we're in the same boat now," Rin informed, "We were both lured out by an enemy Master. An enemy Master who now knows our identity while we don't know theirs. In other words, we're at a disadvantage."

She held out her hand, "I figured that us allying together would be enough to make up for that disadvantage. What do you say?"

Naruto's response was instantaneous, "Sure, why not," he accepted as he shook her hand.

Rin looked a little surprised at his split-second decision before she smiled a bit, "That's just like you, Emiya-kun…" She muttered under her breath.

"Hm? What was that?" Naruto asked, leaning in closer.

"Nothing. I was just saying that calling you 'Naruto' is much easier than calling you 'Emiya-kun'," Rin said, her smile brightening, "That's why, that's what I'm going to call you from now on, Na-ru-to-kun."

Naruto let go of her hand and shrugged, "Fine with me. I don't really care about stuff like that."

Rin let out a small giggle before she thought of something, "You have to get home quickly, right? Want me to tell Archer to carry you home?"

"No, I'm good," Naruto declined, "Saber's gonna kill me anyway, so there's no point in being carried back home by a guy in a skirt."

"Oi. Who the hell are calling 'guy in a skirt'? Archer asked, his eye twitching as he materialized right beside Rin.

"Holy crap! You were here!?" Naruto yelled in surprise, putting a hand on his chest, "Don't be creepy you weird Servant in drag!"

"S-Servant in drag?" Archer asked incredulously, "This shroud is both stylish _and_ fabulous, if you must know."

"…The fact that you're called a Servant makes this even worse," Naruto continued, blatantly ignoring Archer's rebuttal, "I mean what would a person think if they heard, 'hey, I have a Servant with me who's always in drag,' huh?

"I'm not-" Archer testily started before he was interrupted by Rin.

"Puhahahahah! It's fine isn't it," she said between breaths, "I mean- you actually do have something that looks kinda like a skirt on!"

Archer's eye-twitching intensified, "Oi, Master. Are you sure we have to cooperate with him? Are you sure we can't kill him? Not even a little bit?"

Rin heaved a few breaths before she calmed down, "Yes, I'm sure that you can't kill him. It'd be a waste of a manservan- I mean of an ally."

Naruto glared at her, "Oi, I heard something really scary there. You wanna explain what you were about to say there, Rin-san?"

Rin waved her hand in dismissal, "You should get going Naruto-kun. It's getting quite late."

Naruto looked up at the clock and gulped, "Crap! Saber's going to kill me. See ya, Rin! We'll discuss the plan tomorrow!" He said as he ran out the door.

Rin cheerfully waved goodbye as he left before she addressed the Servant standing beside her, "Archer, escort him home. Make sure nothing happens to that careless guy."

Archer's glare remained but he complied nonetheless.

* * *

"Hurry up. Why are you just standing here?" Archer asked as he materialized behind Naruto.

The blonde boy had just been standing on the road and staring at the front entrance to his house for about five minutes now. Frankly, Archer was getting really tired of watching the blonde boy just standing there, and wanted him to seriously hurry it up.

"Oh, did Rin send you to escort me, Dragcher?" He asked in a subdued voice, without averting his gaze.

"D-Dragcher?" Archer incredulously asked, "Who the hell is that!? Is that me!? It better not be me!"

Naruto gracefully ignored Archer's protest and continued, "Hey, can you come inside with me, Dragcher? I'm afraid of what Saber will do to me of I enter now."

Dragcher face palmed, "I should just kill you now, seriously, just go die in hole somewhere. Please. It'd make everyone's life a lot easier."

"So will you come inside with me?" Naruto asked, still ignoring whatever Dragcher said, "Please man, I'm sweating buckets here."

"No."

"Damnit Dragcher, Rin sent you to escort me right?" Naruto asked.

"…yes…" Dragcher hesitantly confirmed, "and stop calling me Dragcher."

"So protect me from the Servant that's about to kill me, please," Naruto answered, ignoring the last part.

"Enough with the histrionics, just go," Dragcher commanded.

"…Fine," Naruto complied as he pouted before a solemn frown overtook it,

"Hey Dragcher… make sure to protect her, okay?"

Archer looked surprised for a second, before he smirked, "Hn, I don't need you to tell me to do that… and seriously, stop calling me Dragcher."

Naruto let out a small smile as he unlocked the front door, "I'm glad… I'm glad that she got a Servant like you."

He looked back and all he saw was an empty street devoid of Archer's signature red presence.

Naruto smirked, "Heh, that bastard."

* * *

 ** _IMPORTANT_**

 ** _Author's Note 1 – A reviewer recently suggested that Gilgamesh be female. At first, I couldn't even figure out how I would characterize that. Then, I read 'Wife of The Golden King' which I can't find again for some reason, and read the wiki to get me a more in-depth view on his personality. So now I'm pretty sure I can write Gilgamesh as any one of them, a female or male. The only thing remaining is to actually decide which gender to make him. That's where you guys come in. I set up a poll so that you guys can decide which gender you want Gilgamesh as. The poll will be open until his actual appearance in the story._**

 ** _Author's note 2 – I know that the Kurama appearing in the village scene wasn't really a part of Naruto's memories, but let's just pretend that it is. I mean- Shirou saw parts of Saber's past from a third person perspective right?_**


	9. Outmaneuver

_**Disclaimer - I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**_

* * *

"I-I'm home!" Naruto nervously announced as he closed the front door behind him and took off his shoes.

Nothing but silence greeted him.

"..."

He felt a small chill run down his spine.

 _"_ H-Hello? Is anyone there?" He tried again.

Once again, only the crushing sound of nothingness answered him.

Naruto walked into the living room in an effort to find some clues, but instead of any clues, he found Saber herself sitting at the dining table with her eyes shadowed, an unhappy frown on her face, and an eerie atmosphere surrounding her.

"H-hey, Saber," Naruto greeted with a healthy bit of nervous cheer, "Sorry I'm a little late. I got held up with-"

 ** _'I wouldn't tell her anything about what happened, if I were you,'_** Kurama interrupted, _**'How do you think she'll react if you tell her that you were in danger and didn't even call for her help?'**_

"With?" Saber practically growled out.

"With...uh, uhhh," Naruto struggled.

"Go on," Saber prompted in a dangerous tone that made his stomach flop around like a gymnast.

"Uhh, I-I um," Naruto stuttered again before the words practically burst out of his mouth, "I got in a fight with Rin and then some weird person attacked us and now we're allied with Rin!"

"...What?" Saber intoned.

 _ **'Dumbass.'**_

"Ah, well, that's the short version anyway," Naruto clarified.

"After hearing a ridiculous explanation like that, I desire the long version," Saber demanded, "Perhaps then it will make some sense."

"...Yeah, I guess you have a point," Naruto conceded as he sat down, "Get comfortable, it's not a long story, but it isn't a short one either."

"I already am comfortable," Saber coldly responded, "I have been waiting here for quite some time, after all."

"Urk!"

* * *

"...And then Dragcher escorted me back home," Naruto concluded.

 _'...Dragcher?'_ Saber questioned in her mind.

"My, my, Master. It seems that trouble has a tendency to chase after you," she noted in a blank voice, "Let us train a little so that when trouble inevitably finds you again, you will be better prepared to deal with it."

Naruto felt a pit of dread form in his stomach, but he honestly could not find anything wrong with training, "Training? Now? Sure. I'm always okay with some training."

"Good," Saber stoically stated, "Let us go to the dojo."

"Y-yeah, about that... Saber, I'll definitely train with you, but first I have to talk to Fuji-nee," Naruto told her, his visage sobering, "Do you know where she is? She should be here, considering it's only seven o' clock."

Saber shook her head apologetically, "I'm sorry, but I do not know where Taiga is. All she told me before she left was that the school had called her for something very important."

"I see," Naruto said as he nodded his head, "I'll talk to her tomorrow then."

"That means you are fine with training, right?" Saber asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

* * *

Naruto let out a large sigh of relief, _'Phew, you have no idea how glad I am that Saber's not angry anymore.'_

 ** _'You do know that she's still mad at you, right?'_** Kurama asked in an amused tone, _**'She's just going to vent all that anger in training.'**_

 _'Wait, what!?'_ Naruto exclaimed, _'Seriously? H-hey, Kurama, please save me! Do something!'_

Kurama did not hesitate, _**'Hell no. This is going to be so much fun to watch.'**_

Naruto scowled, _'Kurama, you freaking BASTAR-'_

"Master, are you not going to wear the protective gear?" Saber unknowingly interrupted, noticing that he only had his black shirt and orange track pants on.

Naruto forced a smile, "N-nah, protective gear like that is too restricting for me. I'm more of the chainmail fishnet type of guy anyway."

"I see... well then, prepare yourself, Master!" Saber warned, "Here I come!"

She took one step forward and used that step to propel herself towards Naruto.

"Woah!" Naruto, who barely heard her warning in time, dropped to the ground to dodge the left to right downward diagonal slash aimed at his chest and brought his foot up to counterattack.

"-!?"

Saber's eyes widened infinitesimally before she easily dodged the foot shooting towards her head and struck it with her shinai. Unfortunately for Naruto, she hit his foot so hard that his entire body was sent tumbling away and only stopped when it slammed against a wall.

"...Ow," came Naruto's dazed reaction as he tried to clear his head by shaking it and tightly gripped his throbbing foot.

Saber felt a small smile play at her lips, "I'm impressed, Naruto. It seems your reaction time is a lot better than I anticipated."

Despite his situation, Naruto grinned sheepishly.

"I'm glad," he said as he brought one hand to rub the back of his head.

Saber raised an eyebrow, "Hm?"

"I'm glad because you're calling me 'Naruto' again," Naruto clarified subduedly, "I feel much better when you call me 'Naruto' compared to when you coldly call me 'Master'."

"Naruto..."

"I can't imagine how much I made you worry by not coming home at time. I'm really, really sorry," Naruto apologized as he dipped his head.

Looking at his downcast expression, Saber felt all the anger bottled inside her fade away.

She sighed, "If you would have just ordered me to, I would have stopped instantly."

Naruto shook his head, "No. This way is much better. You decided to call me 'Naruto' out of your own free will, and that's much better than you calling me 'Naruto' just because I ordered you to."

Saber felt a spot of unease flash in her stomach.

"Naruto, I must talk to you about something," she told him in a serious tone.

It was Naruto's turn to raise an eyebrow, "About what?"

"Naruto... I am a weapon. A tool to be used to obtain the Holy Grail," Saber informed quietly.

Naruto narrowed his eyes but did not interrupt Saber.

"I have noticed that you tend to treat me like a human being; telling me to sit beside you, telling me to walk beside you, feeling sad when I call you 'Master', feeling happy when I call you 'Naruto'," Saber continued, "It is... disconcerting."

She glared at him, "Naruto, I am not a human being; there is no need to treat me like one. I... I am a _Servant_."

"..."

The two stared at each other in tense silence for a few seconds before Naruto started chuckling.

"I see..." He quietly let out.

Saber's glare sharpened, "Which part of that did you find funny, Naruto?"

Naruto stopped chuckling but evidence of his amusement still remained in the form of a smile, "Saber, let me you something. I have never once treated you like a person."

'Do not lie, Naruto," Saber reprimanded, "It is obvious that you do."

"Nope," Naruto denied, "I already know that you're not an actual human being, that's why, instead of treating you like one, I treat you like an _individual._ "

"An... individual?" Saber asked as her glare disappeared and her tone became more subdued.

"Exactly. An individual. Because that's what you are," Naruto explained, "You may not be a human being, but you still have likes, dislikes, wants, hobbies, and so many more traits that identify you as an individual. That's why I treat you like one. It's not my fault that that treatment is similar to how most human beings treat each other."

"...Why?" Saber barely whispered out, "Even though I'm saying that I'm a tool, even though I'm a Servant, why is it that you never treat me like one?"

Naruto stood up and pointed his Shinai straight at her with resolute eyes, "If you're an individual with emotions, then I'll treat you like one. It doesn't matter to me whether that individual is a Servant or the very incarnation of hate itself. An individual is an individual."

Saber's grip on her Shinai tightened as the image of a monstrous nine tailed fox flashed in her mind, "Are you saying that you would treat the very incarnation of hate just like you treat me?"

Naruto shook his head, "Obviously not. There are some individuals that I would hate and some individuals that I would like. Some of them I would get in fights with, some of them I would eat ramen with, but... not a single one of them would be viewed as a rabid beast or a tool by me. I told you didn't I? I'll always treat individuals as individuals."

 ** _'Naruto...'_**

"Besides," Naruto started, "Didn't we bump fists? What kind of a friend would I be if I treated my friend like a tool?"

Saber recalled the fist bump she had made in front of the church and felt a small smile appear on her face, "You are quite an amazing person, Naruto."

She readied her shinai, "Never lose that special power of yours."

Naruto cocked his head slightly, "What special power?"

"Perhaps I'll tell you later," Saber teased before her expression hardened, "Now, prepare yourself! Training isn't over yet!"

Naruto grinned wildly as he bent his knees, "Heh, come at me! I'll beat your ass to the ground!"

* * *

 _ **''I'll beat your ass to the ground'... is what you said, right?'**_ Kurama asked with a wide, amused grin on his face.

Naruto pressed the ice pack against his bruised forehead and gave Kurama a mental glare, _'...Shut up.'_

"That is why you absolutely must wear a helmet, Naruto," Saber lectured, "If you had been wearing one, your forehead would not have been injured."

"No... my forehead... there used to be something else that protected it," Naruto informed with slight melancholic smile in a reminiscing manner, "That's why I kinda forgot that my head wasn't really protected anymore."

"..." Saber looked at him curiously but ended up simply sighing.

"I would have suggested that you get some rest, but since you have been hit on the head, it is best if you do not go to sleep right away," she advised, "Perhaps staying awake for twenty minutes should do?"

"Sure," he complied, shrugging, "But, seriously, I feel bad now. I didn't even stand a chance against you."

Saber closed her eyes and gave him a gentle smile, "That is not true. The fact that you were even hit in the head proves it."

Naruto raised his eyebrows but then winced when his forehead stung from the movement.

"What do you mean?" He asked as he pressed the ice pack harder against his forehead to dull the pain.

"You honestly surprised me, Naruto," Saber praised, "I have never seen anyone improve as fast as you did. To be honest, it's still a little hard for me to believe. I was trying to keep my level of combat only a bit above yours, but by the end of the match, you had improved so much that you managed to surprise me into attacking your head reflexively."

Naruto felt a satisfied grin settle on his face.

"I know I'm awesome," he praised himself before his face became reflective, "Although, it looks like I still can't win against any Servants in a fair fight."

Saber shook her hea, "Your way of thinking is incorrect, Naruto. You are not strong enough to fight a Servant on your own and even with your abnormal rate of improvement, you still won't be in the next fourteen days. Do not even think about fighting any Servants. "

"Tch, I know that," Naruto grumbled, "But since I'm improving, we can do a lot more riskier things to defeat our opponents now."

Saber sighed, "While that is true, please do not actually go around making plans that will put you in dangerous positions. I would be very distressed if you did."

"Yeah, yeah, I know,"Naruto said as he waved his hand in dismissal, "To be honest, we can't actually even make any plans since we have absolutely no information on our enemies."

"That is true," Saber agreed as she frowned, "And all we can do is keep going with your plan for now since we don't even know if it worked or not."

Naruto sighed, "Yeah, it was a risky decision to not check our surroundings for familiars before going home after our battle with Berserker. I still think it'll pay off though. Just you wait."

Saber's frowned deepened, "Yes... I don't like it, but all we can do is wait."

* * *

"Goodnight, Naruto," Saber said as she closed the door, "Don't forget to tie the string on your wrist when you go to sleep."

"Right, right," Naruto casually responded, "Don't you worry; I'll remember. Goodnight."

He watched the room to her door for a few seconds before she turned off the lights and the entire door became dark.

 _ **'You're not going to sleep?'**_ Kurama asked.

Naruto turned his head to look at his futon.

 _'...No. There's no way I can sleep right now. I have to call and ask Fuji-nee about Mitsuzuri,'_ Naruto explained, _'I'll never be able to sleep if I don't.'_

 ** _'Hm, do whatever you want,'_** Kurama said, _**'But in case you haven't realized, it's eleven twenty. She's probably asleep by now.'**_

 _'I know,'_ Naruto responded as he walked into the hall, picked up the phone and dialed Fujimura's number.

The phone ringed for a couple of times before it was finally answered by an extremely drowsy voice.

 _"This is Fujimura residence. Please call us tomorrow. Grandpa and I are sleeping,"_ Fujimura said.

"Fuji-nee, it's me," Naruto said before she could cut the phone.

 _"Naru-chan? Why're you calling so late? I need sleep to maintain my beauty you know?"_ Fujimura asked rhetorically.

Naruto did not smile, nor did he skirt around the point, "Fuji-nee, this is important. Have you guys found any clues, any at all, that could help us find Mitsuzuri?"

"..."

He could almost see Fuji-nee's expression sobering.

 _"Who told you about that?"_ She asked seriously.

"...Issei. I pressured him into telling me," Naruto explained, "Please, Fuji-nee. I'm begging you, please tell me."

 _"Don't worry so much, Naru-chan,"_ Fujimura said in a lighthearted tone, _"Mitsuzuri-san was found a while ago. That's why I had to go before you came back home."_

"Sh-she was found!?" Naruto asked as he breathed a sigh of relief, "Hah, I'm so glad..."

 _"Her memory's a bit jumbled, but there's no visible trauma nor does she have any injuries,"_ Fujimura informed, _"We still don't know what happened though."_

"I see... By the way, Fuji-nee, please don't get Issei in trouble. He didn't actually do anything bad; he just told me because I-" He started explaining before Fujimura interrupted him.

 _"Don't worry. Ryuudou-kun didn't do anything wrong,"_ She told him, _"This was a special case after all."_

"O-oh, uh, thanks, I guess," Naruto thanked, a little surprised.

 _"Heh, heh, don't worry about it,"_ Fujimura dismissed, _"It was supposed to be kept under wraps, but like I said, this was a special case."_

Fujimura allowed Naruto to spend a few seconds in silence to enjoy his relief before she started speaking again.

 _"Now go to sleep! It's already really late!"_ She said in a scolding manner.

"Yes, maam!" Naruto complied in a cheery tone before he put the phone back in its receiver.

He sighed in relief again, _'Phew, that's a load off my mind. Now I just have to speak to Shinji tomorrow.'_

* * *

 _"Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are trash... but you know what? Those who don't take care of their comrades... are lower than trash."_

"..."

Saber slowly opened her eyes, untied the string on her wrist and regally got up from bed.

She slid open the door separating her room from Naruto's a tiny bit and took a peek inside.

As expected, the blonde boy was there, snoring away even though the sunlight was shining directly at his face.

Satisfied with her inspection, Saber closed the door and walked out the other door in her room in order to practice her daily hygienic rituals. She didn't really need to do most of them, but brushing her teeth and the like never hurt anyone.

She headed towards the bathroom but paused for a second to look back at Naruto's room.

 _'A ninja... Naruto, the more I see of your past, the more questions it raises about where you're from or what you were. But... the more I see of your past, the more I can understand why you grew up to become the person who is my Master right now.'_

* * *

"Here," Naruto said as he served Saber a bowl of ramen, "I'm pretty good at making ramen, so I'm sure it'll taste delicious!"

Saber looked incredulously at the bowl of ramen in front of her.

"...Naruto, it is time for _breakfast,_ " she pointed out.

"And?" Naruto asked, not quite understanding the point she trying to make.

"Naruto... It. Is. Time. For. _Breakfast,_ " Saber repeated slowly.

Naruto laughed, "Yeah, I know _that_. What're you trying to tell me though?"

Saber stared at him for a few seconds before she sighed, "Do you always eat ramen for breakfast?"

Naruto shook his head sadly, "Nah. I try to, of course, but Sakura or Fuji-nee stop me whenever I do. They keep saying that it's unhealthy and whatnot. Bah!"

"...Naruto. They are not wrong," Saber informed.

"you too!?" Naruto asked, quite indignant, "Even after I worked so hard to make that ramen for you!? Seriously, try it! I'm really good at cooking ramen, ya know?"

Saber sighed once again, "Naruto...when people usually say that they are good at cooking, they don't mean that they are extremely skilled at figuring out the amount of water to put in a cup. Making two cups of cup ramen and then pouring them into a bowl after their done cooking, does _not_ qualify as hard work."

Naruto scowled, "You have _no_ idea how hard it is to figure out the amount of water to put in! It takes years of experience to get it right!"

"...Very well. I shall eat, fastidiousness is the enemy after all," Saber said as she masked her distaste, "Please refrain from making ramen for breakfast again though."

Naruto's scowled darkened.

"...Fine..." He bit out.

* * *

"Yo, Emiya," Shinji casually called out from inside his ring of girls as Naruto walked into the classroom, "I heard you were searching for me yesterday."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I was. I need talk to you in private."

Shinji shrugged with a smirk on his face, "Too late for that. Class is about to start. Wouldn't want to miss class now, would we?"

 _ **'That boy never**_ **f** **ails** _ **to surprise me with the amount of pride and jealousy he leaks out,'**_ Kurama interjected.

 _'Jealousy? Pride, I get. Why jealousy though? Is he jealous of me about something?"_ Naruto asked.

 _ **'No... I don't think so,**_ ** _'_** Kurama answered, **_'He's constantly leaking a large amount of jealousy but barely any of that is aimed towards you.'_**

 _'I see...'_

 ** _'What are you going to do?'_** Kurama asked

Naruto thought about it for a second before he gave his answer, _'Shinji's problem is private; I have no right to interfere or investigate. I'll focus on Sakura for now.'_

"What's wrong, Emiya?" Shinji asked derisively, "Going into autopilot mode already?"

Naruto glared at the blue haired boy, "Oi, if you have something to say, then come out and say it. I don't have time for this crap."

Shinji chuckled and shook his head amusedly, "You're always so easy to anger, Emiya."

Naruto's glare darkened, "Shinji, I have no problems in kicking your ass right now; if you want me to do that, then just say so."

"My, my, Emiya. You really need to keep that temper under control," Shinji said before his countenance leaked a bit of sadism, "By the way... have you heard about Mitsuzuri?"

Naruto's eyes widened a little, "How do you...?"

Shinji's sadistic smirk widened, "I heard about it in the dojo this morning; really terrible isn't it? I heard that she was found with her eyes glazed over and her clothes in tatters."

Naruto grit his teeth and clenched his fists, "Shinji... If you don't stop right there..."

Shinji shrugged again, "Don't worry so much, Emiya. These are all just rumors."

'RING!'

Suddenly, much to Naruto's relief, the bell rang and he was forced to go to his seat before he did anything drastic.

 _'That bastard... why's he always like this!?'_ Naruto mentally complained as Fujimura walked into the classroom.

"Stand! Bow!" The class rep ordered, just like everyday.

"Hello everyone!" Fujimura excitedly started, just like everyday, "Let's get started with homeroom!"

And four blocks went by before he knew it.

Just like everyday.

* * *

"That bastard, Shinji!" Naruto raged, "I told him I needed to talk to him in private and he still disappeared somewhere during lunch!"

He stomped out of the class and was about to head to the roof, when a female classmate of his whose name he didn't remember grabbed a hold of his arm and stopped him.

"Hello, Uzumaki-san," She greeted as she let go of his hand, "Rin-san told me to tell you to meet her here after school."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "After school?"

The classmate nodded.

"Yes," she said before her expression became a little nervous, "I-if you don't mind me asking, Uzumaki-san... what exactly does she need you for?"

Naruto shrugged, "I have no idea. This is the first time I'm hearing of this."

* * *

Evening had settled and almost all the students had gone home already due to the new rule established by the faculty. After that Ayako incident, the school wasn't willing to take any chances.

"Good, it seems like my message reached you, Naruto," Rin nodded in a satisfied manner.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto casually responded before he looked at her with curious eyes, "So? What did you want?"

Rin's features became serious as she started explaining, "Today we're going to be hunting for sigils. This school is pretty big so-"

"Wait," Naruto stopped her as he brought his hand up in an indication for 'stop', "we're gonna be hunting for... what?"

Rin let out a large sigh.

"I forgot how terrible of a magus you are," She complained as she face-palmed, "Look, this school is surrounded by a boundary field that'll use every non-magic user inside as sacrifices to gather magic energy. It's probably a Master looking to replenish their Servant."

Naruto's eyes widened, "By sacrifices you mean..."

Rin glared at the ground and nodded, "Yeah, the same thing that happened to that girl we healed will probably happen to everyone here. Except the effects will most likely be much stronger since this barrier's so powerful."

Naruto frowned as he put a hand on his chin, _Hey, Kurama, could it be...?'_

 ** _'I can't think of any other explanation...'_**

"Naruto, are you okay?" Rin asked, noticing that he wasn't paying attention to her anymore.

"Hey, Rin... the day before yesterday I found a few places that were leaking out magic energy," Naruto informed, "As you keep reminding me, I'm not good with magic, so I don't know why those places were leaking magic nor do I know what was going on. Maybe those are the sigils you were talking about?"

Rin too brought her hand up to her chin, "Hmmm, I guess it wouldn't hurt to check. It's certainly better than wandering aimlessly and hoping for the best."

Naruto fished out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and unfolded it.

"This way," he said as he turned around and started walking.

As soon as the back of his head faced Rin, her eyes narrowed a tiny bit, _'He can sense magic too? I thought he was hopelessly abysmal at anything related to magic, but it seems like he has a lot more tricks up his sleeves than I thought. I have to watch out for him... I know he won't betray me, but once our alliance is over..."_

* * *

"Wow, I'm surprised, Naruto," Rin commented as the two Masters finished putting on their regular 'outside' shoes at the front entrance, "You found almost all the sigils without even knowing what they were."

"Good thing too. I thing we got all of them," Naruto noted as he let loose a tired grin, "I guess that means we can go home now?"

Rin looked around one last time before she addressed his thinly veiled request.

"Sure, doesn't look like we'll find anymore anyway," She agreed, "Keep in mind though, this doesn't mean that we've taken down the boundary field. It only means that we've delayed the time it'll take for it to activate."

"Eh!? How do we put a stop to it completely then?" Naruto asked, quite surprised with this little tidbit of information.

"This is a Servant's Noble Phantasm; the only way I can think of to stop this, is to take down the Servant who put this up," Rin answered, "The Servant who set this up is probably the same Servant who attacked us."

Naruto gave her an impressed look, "Wow, looks like you've already figured everything out. You're pretty active in this war, huh? I bet you've found kinds of info on the other Masters and Servants."

Rin smirked proudly, "Obviously."

Naruto gave her a mischievous grin, not unlike the one he used to give Iruka-sensei whenever he asked for more ramen, and asked, "Ehehehe, mind sharing some of that info with me; you know, since we're allies?"

Rin gave him a sly smirk.

"Oh? That's a bold move, Naruto," She said as she shook her head in faux-apology, "I'm afraid I'll have to refuse though. The alliance is only effective until we take down the Servant threatening this school after all."

"Tch, so stingy..." Naruto grumbled.

Rin's smirk widened, "Anyway, you should go straight home, Naruto. It's probably not a good idea to wander around when there are no witnesses to stop anyone from attacking you."

"Right, right," Naruto casually said as he walked out the main door and waved behind him, "See ya."

Rin cheerfully closed her eyes and returned his wave even though he couldn't see her, "Goodbye, Don't die!"

She waited until she was sufficiently confident that the blonde haired boy had left the school before she opened her eyes to reveal steel filled, aqua colored irises,

"Around three meters..."

 _"Hm?"_ Archer asked without leaving his spirit form.

"That's his range of magic sensing," Rin clarified, "Around three meters."

 _"I don't doubt that information, but may I ask how you found that out?"_ Archer asked curiously.

"Naruto found a lot of the sigils when he came here the other day with Saber, but he didn't find all of them back then," Rin explained, "To be precise, he managed to find five more sigils today."

 _"And?"_ Archer prompted.

"We only found these five extra sigils by wandering around the academy and relying on his magic sensing skills," Rin continued, "And each time he sensed the sigils, we were always about three meters away from them. Always."

 _"I see... you are quite devious, Rin,"_ Archer noted, almost sounding like he was complimenting her, _"Searching your own ally for weaknesses... what a shrewd person you are..."_

Rin crossed her arms and glared at the invisible Archer, "Hmph, it's not like I was the only one doing it. I'll bet you anything that he was doing the same thing."

 _"Did you notice anything?"_ Archer asked.

"Well... no..." Rin admitted, "But that guy's really shrewd too, you know!? I'm almost a hundred percent sure that he got some information on me just by hunting sigils with me today!"

* * *

 _'As I thought... Rin's taken an active stance in this war...'_ Naruto noted to himself as he let his legs automatically lead him back home.

 ** _'What do you mean by that?'_** Kurama asked curiously.

 _'Since we don't really have a lot of skills that are useful for dealing with magic, we can't really track our enemies. That's why we're stuck baiting our enemies to us,'_ Naruto explained, _'Rin, on the other hand, has a large variety of skills that are useful for dealing with magic. That's why she can actively track down her enemies and can actually attack them first. We're just stuck counterattacking.'_

Kurama paused for a few seconds before he let out a small chuckle, _**'Heh.'**_

 _'What?'_ Naruto asked defensively.

Kurama shook his head, **_'It's nothing... I'm just thinking about how this is the most alive I've seen you in years.'_**

"..."

Naruto stared at the vermillion colored street for a few seconds as he walked before he pulled his own hair in frustration, "Goddamnit, Rin!"

 ** _'Hm? What happened now?'_** Kurama asked amusedly.

 _'This waiting crap just isn't for me!'_ Naruto complained, _'I wanna go on the offensive like Rin, not wait for enemies to come to me! Gah!'_

Kurama chuckled again, _**'Heh, always the impatient type... can't say I disagree with you though...'**_

 _'Right!? Isn't waiting around just getting annoying? I wish the enemy would hurry up and attack already!'_ Naruto grumbled.

Kurama smirked, _**'As they say; be careful what you wish for. That wish might just come back to bite you in the ass.'**_

 _'Heh, let it try,'_ Naruto challenged.

* * *

"Thank you for the food!" Fujimura thanked as she put her bowl on her plate and clapped her hands together in a prayer fashion.

Saber too, put her bowl on her plate and clapped her hands together in a prayer fashion, "Thank you for the meal, Naruto."

"You're welcome," Naruto responded to them both in a bored tone as he collected all the dishes on the table and brought them to kitchen.

Fujimura sighed dissatisfiedly, "This house just doesn't feel the same without Sakura..."

Naruto glanced back at the brown haired teacher as he put on his his cleaning gloves and turned on the water.

"Yeah, she only started coming here a year ago, but for some reason this house just doesn't feel like home without Sakura," he lamented.

Fujimura flopped to the floor and frowned, "What's she busy doing anyway?"

Naruto shrugged and put another dish on the drying rack, "Beats me. She didn't tell me."

Fujimura sat back up and looked at the entrance to the living room, "I hope she comes back soon..."

* * *

The moon was hanging high up in the sky and the entirety of Fuyuki city was illuminated by the combined strength of the moonlight and streetlights. The streets themselves were empty, save for a few night owls and the rare drunks. The inside of the Emiya residence was enveloped in darkness and the only sounds that could be heard were the chirping of crickets, the soft breathing of Saber, and the loud snores from Naruto (that oddly blended in with the tranquil night rather nicely).

Suddenly, the loud snores died away.

Nobody could've noticed that something strange had happened.

Nevertheless, Kurama did.

 _ **'This is...!'**_

Naruto, who had been peacefully sleeping up until this point, dazedly stood up. Drool leaked out of his mouth as he slowly wobbled towards the front entrance of the house. Were anyone were to see his manner of walking, they would inevitably compare him to a zombie.

 **"Wake up, Naruto,"** Kurama tried.

Naruto did not respond.

 **"...I said, WAKE UP!"** Kurama yelled.

 _'Ah! What? What happened,'_ Naruto blearily asked as he materialized in his mindscape, _'And why the hell did you call me here?'_

Kurama crossed his arms on the wet ground and rested his head on it like a normal fox, **"Looks like you're body's being controlled by someone else. Luckily, it seems like the've put the main catalyst for the technique inside of you. We can't expel our chakra to affect outside world, but we sure as hell can manipulate your chakra inside of you. This catalyst is inside of you so we can easily get rid of it by washing it away with our power."**

Naruto rubbed his eyes to wipe the sleep away from his eyes before he plopped down to the ground with a wet 'SPLASH' and put a hand on his chin, "...Explain to me _exactly_ what's happening."

Kurama stretched his hand out and tapped the water right in front of Naruto.

The ripples from the tap expanded and left the image of an empty street in its wake. As soon as the ripples died down, the image started moving, not unlike a movie.

 **"This is what's happening outside at the moment,"** Kurama explained, **"It seems like someone out there is controlling your body to go to them. The catalyst for this controlling technique is located near your heart; since the catalyst is inside of you, we can easily wash it away with our overwhelming power in an instant."**

"Are there going to be any side effects from washing away this 'catalyst'?" Naruto asked, "You said it was located near my heart right?"

Kurama shook his giant head, **"No, there won't be any side effects from washing this thing away. Like I said, This thing inside of you is just a catalyst; the rest of the technique is working outside of you right now. There's no way for someone to just _shove_ a giant technique with failsafes inside of you from afar."**

Naruto nodded to indicate his understanding, "I see. That means that getting rid of this technique is always an option. That's good to know."

He looked up at Kurama and raised an eyebrow, "How do you know that this person is bringing us to them though? Can you track the technique back to the user?"

Kurama snapped his fingers(?) in realization, **"Oh, right! I blocked out this sound because it was getting annoying, but this should explain everything."**

He snapped his fingers again and suddenly an eerie and feminine voice echoed around them over and over again.

 _"Come... Come...Come...Come...Com-"_

"Uwah, what the hell is that? It's way too creepy!" Naruto asked as he grimaced.

Kurama snapped his fingers again and the voice disappeared.

 **"Yeah, you see why I blocked it out now?"** Kurama asked rhetorically, **"But yeah, that's why I know that they're calling you to them; why else would they keep repeating come...come... otherwise?"**

Naruto gave the fox a questioning look, "Why do you keep calling her a 'they'? That person clearly sounds like a female."

 **"Yeah... I'm not risking anything after that Haku crap,"** Kurama shot back.

"Urk!"

 **"Anyway, so what do you want me to do now?"** Kurama asked, getting back to the point, **"Keep in mind that the time it'll take for us to break out of this technique is about half a second."**

Naruto narrowed his eyes in contemplation before he gave his answer, "Let that person bring us to them; in the first place, the best case scenario of this whole plan was getting whisked away to the enemy's hideout. If it looks like I'm about to be run over by car or something then break me out of this technique. Same goes for if someone is about to attack me."

 **"Gotcha."**

* * *

 _'Ryuudou temple, huh? I hope the enemy Master isn't Issei...'_ Naruto thought to himself as he watched his body slowly walk up the stairs, regardless of his will.

It took a few minutes with his pace to climb up the stairs and as soon as he got to the gate, he noticed another person standing in front of the gate.

Well... his physical appearance was like that of a normal person's but his unique attire and dangerously long katana suggested that he belonged in a different time period altogether.

 _'Hey Kurama... that guy's a Servant right?'_ Naruto asked as his body walked past the man dressed as an ancient samurai.

 ** _'Yeah,'_** Kurama confirmed, _**'Based on what we've seen, no normal Magus could emit that much magical energy.'**_

 _'I think it's called Prana,'_ Naruto corrected.

 _ **'Whatever,'**_ Kurama dismissed.

Naruto stumbled through the gate and came to a stop after walking two-thirds of the way to the actual Temple's entrance. Right in front of him was a dark mirage-like figure that he could instinctively feel was the cause of the technique controlling him.

"Welcome... Saber's Master..." The figure welcomed as the dark illusion surrounding her faded to reveal an eerie woman whose head was covered by a hood and whose elaborate purple dress was covered by an equally elaborate purple cloak.

Naruto felt sweat run down the back of his neck, _'H-hey, Kurama. She looks like a Servant too... Please tell me that she isn't one.'_

Kurama grunted, _**'Bad news... She's a Servant.'**_

Naruto grit his teeth as he berated himself, _'Crap! I made a huge mistake! I thought that after seeing how I couldn't even sense any familiars, no enemy team would agree to an alliance where the goal is to take down such a seemingly vulnerable enemy like me! In the end, there can only be one winner after all.'_

 _ **'Looks like your prediction was completely off,'**_ Kurama noted, _**'Even with such an easy target, this Servant didn't take any chances.'**_

Naruto's mind raced as he tried to come up with a suitable counter strategy, _'Crap, crap, crap, crap! I can't think of anything here!'_

"Hm? You look nervous, Saber's Master," The enemy Servant pointed with a smile.

Naruto forced a grin, "There aren't a lot of people who wouldn't be in my situation."

The enemy Servant laughed amusedly, "True, true. Welcome to my humble abode. Call me Caster."

Naruto grimaced, "Caster, huh?"

"Yes... looks like you are truly unfortunate, Saber's Master," Caster said, "I need Saber to beat Berserker, and you... you are in the way."

 _'Shit, I've still got nothing! I need to stall!'_ Naruto thought as Caster slowly made her way towards him.

"I saw another Servant outside; I'm surprised that you decided to create an alliance with another team just to get to me," He said, his forced grin still in place.

Caster stopped, put a hand on her mouth, and laughed, "Hahahaha! You think that Assassin is my _ally_?"

She stopped laughing and glared at Naruto - at least he thought she did seeing that the hood kinda blocked her eyes - and frowned, "I really wish you wouldn't put me on the same level as him..."

"Wh-what?" Naruto asked, quite confused with her statement.

Caster smirked, "Since I was summoned as 'Caster', it isn't really that hard to make the leap that I am a Magus, is it? Since I'm a Magus involved in the Holy Grail war, that means I can summon my own Servant, right?"

Naruto's eyes widened, "Assassin's... your Servant?"

Caster's smirk widened, "Exactly. That Servant outside is nothing but a dog. A dog chained up to his doghouse; Assassin can't even leave this temple. He's stuck here for the entire duration of this war."

Naruto grimaced as she started walking towards him again, _'Tch, I wasn't wrong about the people not allying to attack me thing. I just got really, really unlucky...'_

 _ **'What's the plan, Naruto?'**_ Kurama asked as he glared at Caster from inside his mindscape.

 _'...I'm guessing that since she's a magus, she doesn't really have a lot of physical capabilities,'_ Naruto started, _'As soon as she gets close to me, break the technique and I'll aim a punch towards her face. Obviously the punch won't actually do anything, but if I can get her to flinch in surprise... then maybe, just maybe I can use that chance to escape. Servant or not, she'll still react to a punch coming to her face instinctively.'_

 ** _'...That's it!?'_** Kurama growled out incredulously, _**'That's the best you could come up with!? The chances of that plan working are insanely low at best and you know it!'**_

 _'What the hell do you want me to do then!?'_ Naruto yelled back, frustration leaking into his voice, _'She's got me completely cornered! I've got nowhere to go!'_

Kurama glared at the blonde boy and grit his teeth before he relented with a sigh, **'Fine...** _**This is the best we've got anyway.'**_

Caster took another step and was barely a meter away from Naruto, when thirteen arrows rained down on her. Caster, in an impressive display of speed, shot backwards and avoided every single one.

"Who-!?" Caster asked as she landed.

"Tch, looks like I missed," A man garbed in red complained as he landed right in front of Naruto.

"D-Dragcher? Why're you here?" Naruto asked, a little surprised and more than a little relieved.

"I was just patrolling around when I caught a curious sight," Archer easily answered, keeping his gaze fixed on Caster the entire time, "By the way, you should be able to move now; I already got rid of the magic binding you... And don't call me Dragcher."

Naruto tested out that claim by moving his arm a bit.

 _'He's right...'_ He noted to himself, _'What about that thing near my heart, Kurama?'_

 ** _'Looks like the catalyst inside your chest is gone too,'_** Kurama answered.

"Archer..." Caster more or less growled, "What the hell is that Assassin doing!?"

Archer smirked, "Don't be so angry, Caster. Assassin's quite busy fighting Saber; the fact he hasn't lost yet is impressive in on itself."

 _'So Saber made it...'_ Naruto noted to himself.

Caster scowled, "hmph, Assassin's only job was to not let any Servants in. If he failed in such a simple task then he is even worse than a dog."

Archer shook his head in a what-can-you-do manner, "My, my, what a difficult woman you are."

"Do not make me angry, Archer," Caster warned, "If you do... you will not like the consequences."

Archer stopped his taunting and aimed a glare at the Servant dressed in purple, "Caster, I heard what you said about Assassin..."

"And?" Caster prompted amusedly.

Archer's glare darkened, "Caster, you broke the rules!"

Caster's smirk widened, "Now, now, if you really did hear the explanation I gave that boy, then you should already know my justification."

"Obviously _you_ would resort to such tactics..." Archer muttered.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Hm? What do you mean by that, Dragcher?"

"Since Caster is a Servant who mainly relies on magic for offense and defense, Saber, Lancer, and Rider, all three who have extremely high magic resistance, are enemies that she has to rely on underhanded tactics to defeat," Archer explained, "Breaking the rules to summon Assassin, creating a territory _here_ , where there's a protective field that rejects Servants and only allows them to enter from the entrance. Not to mention the fact that this place also dispenses large amounts of magic energy because of the leylines... Oh, _and_ she's collecting souls from the innocent people in this town. Basically, these are types of tactics she's been using."

"Collecting souls?" Naruto asked as he felt a pit of dread form in his stomach.

"Yeah. Rin found more than a few people that this witch rendered impotent by stealing magical energy from," Archer informed, "Looks like she's stopped killing the people she's been taking magical energy from though."

Naruto leveled an intense glare at Caster, "You bastard! Why're you getting innocent people involved in this!?"

Caster's smirk remained in place, "I will do anything to win. If that means rendering men impotent, then so be it."

Archer gave Caster a smirk of his own, "Too bad your luck has run out, witch. I'll only need one blow to defeat you."

Caster stared at Archer as if he was a novice in magic and was challenging her to a spell-only duel, "You stand no chance, Archer. There's only two people I have to worry about; Saber and Berserker."

"We'll see about that," Archer challenged as he took a step forward.

Before anyone could do anything though, Naruto took a walked up to Archer and put his arm in front of the clad in red Servant to block his way.

"There's no need for any fighting," he announced.

"What do you mean by that, boy?" Caster asked confusedly just as Archer raised an eyebrow.

"What do I mean by that?" Naruto mockingly repeated before he glared darkly at Caster, "Well...in simple terms, we've already won."

* * *

"TSUBAME GAESHI!"

"ARGH!" Saber yelled in pain as she barely managed to stop the two blades coming at her simultaneously from hitting her vital points by using her Noble Phantasm, Invisible Air, just in time as a propellant to send herself hurling backwards.

She bounced on the ground as she kept falling but managed to regain her sense of balance landed on her feet just in time to come to a stop before she fell down any more steps.

She took a moment to calm herself and to review exactly how she had gotten in this position in the first place.

* * *

As soon as Naruto had up and left, Saber, notified by the gentle pull of the string loosely tied between them, had waited for a few extra minutes for her Master to gain a bit of distance between them before she had started tracing his steps and direction in order trail him discreetly.

It had been incredibly hard for her to keep her distance and not to rush to her Master to snap him out of the clearly unnatural state for an upwards of eighty minutes that it took for him to get to the enemy's hideout in the pace that he was moving in.

Luckily, their efforts had been awarded and one of their enemies' hideout had finally been found out.

The next step of Naruto's plan called for her to rescue him safely and later they would come up with a strategy to assault this place.

Too bad that the plan hit a giant snag though.

A giant snag called Assassin.

Contrary what one would expect after hearing that, Assassin was actually quite cordial.

He had even given his name away. Saber, honor-bound, had been about to do the same, but Assassin had easily stopped her. Assassin had claimed that his "blade would tell him all that he needed to know about his opponent."

Not to mention the fact that Assassin was a fountain of information. He had told her about everything, from the fact that he was fictional Heroic Spirit who had been summoned by Caster, to the fact that Caster was stealing enormous amounts of magical energy from an incredible amount of innocent civilians in Fuyuki city.

Still, at the moment, there was only one thing she had wanted to do and still wanted to do.

And that was, to save Naruto.

Yet, Assassin did not let her pass. He was cordial and gave her information, but he did not allow her to pass.

So, she tried to force her way in.

Where Saber had 'weight', 'power' and 'speed', Assassin had the terrifying advantage in 'technique' and 'positioning'.

Instead of simply blowing past him, like she had expected, she had been forced to lose entire minutes in their fierce clashes. Assassin had even figured out the length of her blade in under a minute. By the time the three minute mark had passed, Saber had been contemplating about using her strongest Noble Phantasm.

Unfortunately, Assassin used his, first.

Well, the attack wasn't a Noble Phantasm, it was his 'ultimate technique'.

In her mind, other than the 'not requiring extra magical energy to use it' part, the distinction was pretty damn hard to make.

And that's how she'd gotten here.

* * *

"My, my, Saber. Your instincts are honestly terrifying," Assassin praised as he let go of his follow-through and went back to his usual, elegant yet effective stance, "Even though I attacked from above you and that's why there were only two slashes instead of three, the fact that you dodged those two strikes is truly impressive."

"Assassin... what was that?" Saber asked, unable to hold her curiosity back.

"During my life, I once strived to cut down a swallow," Assassin narrated, "Unfortunately, swallows are fast little birds who can dodge both vertically and horizontally and can feel the disturbance in the air. Since a sword can only move in a straight line and since there is no possible way to swing a sword without disturbing the air, swallows cannot be taken down with a single slash. Although, you see... I had nothing better to do. So instead of giving up, I simply tried again and again until one day I noticed that I had finally succeeded. Since swallows cannot be killed with a single strike, I consecutively slashed three times instead. Two of the slashes were to block off its escape and the last one... the last one was the slash meant to kill."

Saber grimaced, _'Consecutive? No. Those slashes weren't consecutive; they both appeared at the same time. That attack was more along the lines of a multi-dimensional refraction effect. What a frighting opponent...'_

Assassin smirked, "Shall we continue?"

Saber glared at him as she bent her knees.

Before any of the two combatants could do anything though, a shimmering globe, that looked to be around the size of their head, unexpectedly appeared before them in a brief and small storm of darkness. The globe rotated for a bit before it came to a stop and the faces of Archer, Caster, and Naruto appeared on it.

"Yo, Saber!" Naruto cheerfully greeted, "It's fine to stop fighting now; we've reached an agreement with Caster!"

Assassin gave the Caster in the globe a questioning look and neither he, nor Saber failed to notice the absolutely livid expression on Caster's face.

"Assassin... stop fighting..." Caster ground out.

Naruto gave the two Servants an angelic smile while Archer just kind of stared at the them with a neutral expression on his face.

"Caster and I are going to make a Geis, so make sure that she doesn't do something outside the ordinary, okay?" Naruto merrily ordered, "That goes for you too, Dragcher."

"Right, right," Archer casually assented, "And don't call me Dragcher."

Naruto gave Caster a nod and Caster took that as a sign to start creating the Geis. All she did was hold out her hand and a stereotypical magical parchment started forming out of thin air. A few seconds later, the entirety of the parchment had been created.

She looked it over for a few seconds before she passed it onto Naruto.

Nobody present at the scene missed how her hand twitched in rage and frustration as she handed the dangerous magic over.

Naruto took a moment to scan it himself before and nodded in satisfaction before he passed it onto Archer.

Archer's scan took a lot longer and his eyes lingered at parts of the parchment for a few seconds before he too nodded in satisfaction,

"Looks like everything's in order. I took a careful look at it, and I'm a hundred percent sure that there aren't any loopholes that she can exploit."

Naruto grinned, "You're the last proofreader, Saber. You're free to read it too I guess, Assassin."

"My thanks," Assassin said with a smile as Naruto turned the parchment towards the globe.

Saber and Assassin both slowly walked up to the globe and curiously read the contents of the parchment.

As the two Servants who had just recently been fighting each other worked through the conditions of the binding magic, Saber's eyes dramatically widened while Assassin started chuckling amusedly.

"N-Naruto! If you sign this contract then not only will she tell you the way to Berserker's Master's hideout, she'll also tell you everything about her own Noble Phantasms!" Saber exclaimed, unable to mask the surprise that she felt, "How did you-?"

Naruto gave her a reassuring grin, "don't worry, I'll tell you the 'how' of it on the way home. For now, just tell me whether you see any tricks embedded in there or not."

Saber gave the Geis a once over again before she shakily spoke up, "I-I don't see any loopholes. it seems like the conditions are clear; Caster will tell us the way to Berserker's Master's hideout and all the details of her own Noble Phantasm. In return, we will not attack them tonight and nor will they be able to do the same."

Assassin nodded as well, "Yes, it seems like, if you sign that Geis, both factions will walk away with a ceasefire for tonight, and our faction will you give you two extra pieces of information. Not a bad deal for you, I'd say."

Caster glared at Assassin, "Keep your mouth shut, dog! Do you want me to rip out your ribcage again!?"

Assassin raised his hands in a placating gesture, "Sorry, sorry. My, you are a difficult woman to deal with."

"Assassin!" Caster warned, raising her voice.

Assassin amused smile remained but he did not speak any further.

"Looks like the deal's checks out, Caster. I'm impressed," Naruto commented as he turned the parchment back towards himself and signed in the indicated area, "With this, the curse is complete. Now, go ahead and keep your part of the deal. I'm _very_ interested in what you have to say.

Caster grit her teeth.

* * *

Naruto, Archer, and Saber were all walking towards Rin's house while Saber relayed her entire battle with Assassin to the other two males in their group.

"Unavoidable, you say?" Archer asked as Saber described Assassin's ultimate technique, Tsubame Gaeshi.

Saber nodded, "Yes. If he had used the full version that is. It was only my incredible instincts that saved me from certain death, even though there were only two slashes."

"An unavoidable attack..." Naruto mused, "What a dangerous guy."

The three spent a second in silence as they pictured the Tsubame Gaeshi in their minds and tried to come up with a counter for it.

"Anyway, I cannot believe that Caster willingly gave us so much information _just_ for a ceasefire in return," Saber noted, changing the subject, "How did you get her to do that, Naruto?"

Archer chuckled, " _Just_ for a ceasefire? You've got it all wrong, Saber."

Saber raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

Archer turned to look at Naruto, who was grinning like a loon, "This boy... he's a lot more dangerous than I gave him credit for. The situation went something like this...

* * *

"Well... in simple terms, we've already won," Naruto claimed as he smirked mischievously, his cerulean eyes dancing in dangerous glee.

Caster, even though she knew that she had the upper hand, could not help but feel a little nervous at the expression that the blonde boy was making.

"Y-you've already won?" Caster asked incredulously, "Do not be ridiculous, boy; in what way have you won!?"

Naruto chuckled as he brought his hand up to show Caster his command seals, "Tell me, what do you think would happen if I summoned Saber here?"

Caster took a step back and Archer was ready to bet anything that Caster's eyes had also widened.

"If I summon Saber, someone who has rank-A magical resistance, you wouldn't stand a chance," Naruto continued, "Saber's your worst enemy after all."

"Why should I believe that rank-A magic resistance claim of yours!? You could be bluffing!" Caster yelled.

Naruto shrugged, "From what I heard from the priest, all Sabers usually have a high magic resistance. Is it really a stretch of imagination to believe my claim?"

"Kuh!" Caster took a step back before she counterattacked, "Even if you do summon Saber, I'll simply get Assassin to stop her again. As Archer said, Assassin is clearly skilled enough to face Saber."

Naruto grinned predatorily, "Hey Dragcher, what range does Assassin fight in?"

"Close range," Archer answered instantly, "His sword is longer than average, but it's still a sword... And don't call me Dragcher.

"Like Dragcher said, Assassin is a close range fighter, so that mean that if I summon Saber and order her to attack you and if Dragcher simply keeps Assassin away with arrows, then you would get no support against Saber," Naruto explained, "A situation you definitely can't afford to land in."

Caster grit her teeth as her mind raced, _'This boy... could it be that he... outmaneuvered me? Just a few minutes ago I had him cornered and now... now I'm the one in his position. I need to think... what can I do to reverse this situation?'_

She clenched her fists, _'I can't think of anything! What should I- ...wait. Wait a minute, why hasn't he...?'_

"Boy, You've given me this layout of what will happen if you summon Saber, but why haven't you actually summoned her yet?" Caster asked, "If events will truly proceed as you say, then you would have summoned her as soon as the idea appeared in your mind."

"I would have to waste a Command Seal to summon her, and I really want to conserve them in case of some emergency in the future," Naruto explained, "That's why I haven't summoned her yet."

 _'Then why would you tell me this possibili-?'_ Caster asked in her head before realization made itself known, "You... you intend to negotiate?"

"Wow, I'm impressed. You brain works really fast," Naruto said with a mild look of surprise, "You're right, I intend to negotiate. If you don't want to, then I could always just summon Saber here. It's regrettable that I'll lose a Command Seal, but at least I'll take two Servants down with it."

Caster discreetly gulped.

 _'Even though he's cornered me, I can't forget the fact that he's still just a kid,'_ She thought to herself as she smirked on the inside, _'_ _Taking down two Servants at the cost of one Command Seal is an extremely beneficial sacrifice; this boy is a lot shrewder than I thought but he still has a ways to go before he can match me.'_

 _'You're probably thinking something along the lines of 'This boy is good but he's still a kid' because of my statement about how I don't want to waste a Command Seal to take down two Servants, but unfortunately for me, I can't really afford to waste Command Seals,'_ Naruto thought to himself, _'It would be a dumber move to waste a Command Seal to kill you and Assassin than to extort you.'_

The two glared at each other before Caster slightly nodded her head, "Very well, let us negotiate."

Naruto's expression became blank, "Tell me, do you know who's put up the bounded field in Homurahara academy?"

Caster narrowed her eyes as she considered her next move, _'Is that it? Is that what he wants? That information shouldn't harm me at all, but... being threatened by this boy... it makes me-!'_

"...Yes," She answered after a second of silence.

"Who is it?" Naruto asked, his glare unwavering.

"The girl who set up the bounded field is in senior year," Caster informed, "Her name is Yunoko Taeka."

 _'Kurama, describe what was going on with Caster's anger the entire time,'_ Naruto ordered.

 _ **'She was seriously pissed before but as soon as she started telling you about the this Yunoko Taeka brat, her anger went down,'**_ Kurama informed, _ **'She's still angry, but not as much.'**_

 _'I see...'_ Naruto responded as he smirked, "You're lying, Caster."

Caster's eyes widened.

"Caster, you probably already know that I'm horrible at magecraft, but... I do have one incredibly unique skill that I was born with," Naruto continued confidently, "I have the ability... to sense _lies_ themselves."

 ** _'...Liar,'_** Kurama accused.

 _'Shhh, if I say that I can sense negative emotions then she'll probably do something to her's. There's plenty of ways to distract yourself from feeling negative emotions, ya know?'_ Naruto explained, _'If I say that I can sense lies and prove it by actually calling her out on one she'll believe me and be forced to tell the truth. Well that, or she'll think that I already know who the culprit already is and I'm just humiliating her at this point. Either way she'll begrudgingly give me the information I want.'_

 ** _'...Heh. You always surprise me, Naruto,'_** Kurama praised.

 _'Obviously. I'm awesome, that's why,'_ Naruto easily responded.

 _'He can sense lies? Impossible!'_ Caster incredulously thought to herself before she allowed herself to entertain the idea, _'But what if it's true? He knew that I was lying when I told him about the Yunoko girl. Yunoko Taeka is an actual senior who goes to his school, so there was no way for him to figure that I'm lying. Unless... He already knows the culprit? Which one is it; can he sense lies, or does he know the actual culprit? No... it doesn't matter at this point... either way, I'm forced to give him the correct information!'_

"Very well," Caster vocalized with barely restrained anger, "The person who set up the Bounded field on Homurahara academy is... a boy named Matou Shinji."

Naruto's eyes widened, _'W-what!?'_

 _ **'Looks like she's telling the** **truth,'**_ Kurama noted, ** _'Her anger spiked like crazy as soon as she told you about that purple haired brat.'_**

Naruto grit his teeth, _'That bastard! I knew he was a dick to people, but to involve random civilians? What the hell is wrong with hi-'_

 ** _'Don't lose your focus now,'_** Kurama interrupted, _**'You're still dealing with Caster right now.'**_

Naruto discreetly took a deep breath to calm himself, _'Y-yeah. I'm busy right now; I'll deal with Shinji later.'_

"Looks like you're telling the truth," Naruto said, "Next question; what is your Noble Phantasm?"

"There's no way I'm telling you that!" Caster yelled as her mind desperately raced to find something to counterattack with, _'If he gets information on my Noble Phantasm, then he'll gain an enormous advantage over me! Not to mention the fact that if I answer that, then who knows how many more questions he'll ask me!'_

 _'As I thought,'_ Naruto thought to himself as he suggested an offer that he had come up during the course of this entire negotiation, "How about this, then? We'll establish a Geis. The conditions will be that you tell me all that you know about your own Noble Phantasms and hm... say, the route to Berserker's Master's hideout? Not the the location, the route. Meaning you can't just say, 'Fuyuki city' and be done with it. In return we'll form an inviolable ceasefire for tonight."

Naruto smirked foxily, "It's a good deal, don't you think? We get information and you get to live. It's a complete win-win situation!"

If looks could kill, then Naruto would have killed by Caster a thousand times over, and that was _with_ her hood on.

"Boy, you are underestimating me," Caster said, her fists tightening underneath her cloak, "This is my territory, I am easily capable of escaping you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Even if you could do that, we both know that that would put you in a huge disadvantage against basically everyone in this war."

Caster's eyes narrowed as Naruto continued, "If you escape, then we'll simply kill Assassin with our superior numbers. You may call him a dog, but we both know that him guarding the gate to your hideout is an extremely huge advantage that you absolutely cannot afford to lose right now."

Caster considered her options, _'Should I take this deal? It's heavily disadvantageous for me, but if I do take this deal, then he'll only be able to get two those pieces of information from me. I rejected giving him information on my Noble Phantasm before, but we both know that if he had pressed his advantage, I'd have been forced to tell him anyway, and if I told him the details of my Noble Phantasm, then would've asked for more and more information until he got everything out of me. Not to mention the fact that after I'd have told him everything, he would've still had the chance to kill me. With a Geis though...'_

 _ **'I'm surprised that you even know what a Geis is,'**_ Kurama said, quite surprised.

 _'I know about it for the same reason you do: Kiritsugu,'_ Naruto told him.

 _ **'Yeah, but I honestly thought that you'd have forgotten about it by now,'**_ Kurama explained.

 _'I did, but ever since this war started, I've been trying to remember everything that Kiritsugu taught_ me,' Naruto informed, _'Looks like it payed off.'_

 ** _'...Wow, that's actually pretty smart of you,'_** Kurama commended in a surprised manner.

 _'Oi! What's that supposed to mean!?'_ Naruto aggressively asked.

Kurama chuckled for a second before he answered, **_'Nothing, don't worry about it.'_**

Naruto tried to burn the giant fox to a crisp with his eyes as said fox continued, _**'Why did you give her that Geis offer though? You had such a huge advantage and could've easily kept asking her for more information if you pressed her.'**_

Naruto stopped glaring at Kurama and focused on Caster again, _'If I kept pressing her, then she would've probably decided that risking an escape would've been worth it, simply by considering the fact that she'll have to answer all our questions without the absolute guarantee of us withdrawing. This way is much better. Not only will she be forced to tell us everything about her Noble Phantasm this way, but she'll also probably find this to be a better option than all the others and will take it. In the end, we've already won. We just have to determine our prize.'_

 ** _'Naruto, you may know what a Geis' basic function is, but you have no idea what the intricacies of that spell are,'_** Kurama warned, **_'She can easily turn the situation on you by tricking you with something in that Geis.'_**

 _'That's why I'll ask Dragcher and Saber to look it over,'_ Naruto revealed, _'I may not be good at magic, but they probably are.'_

"...Very well," Caster said, sounding like she was struggling to even speak, "I accept your deal."

 _'Kurama?'_ Naruto asked.

 _ **'Yeah, her anger just went up with that one. She's probably not trying to trick you,'**_ Kurama responded, easily understanding what the blonde wanted from him.

"Good. So can you contact Saber and Assassin?" Naruto asked, "Since we've come to an accord, there's no real point in fighting anymore is there?"

"Don't get arrogant! Why should I listen to you!?" Caster asked heatedly.

"I don't trust you," Naruto informed as he glared at her, "I need to be sure that you won't try to slip a loophole past me. That's why I need Saber to double-check."

Caster growled while Naruto continued, "Plus, this should be no problem for you if you're honestly not trying to slip any loopholes by me," Naruto said before he brought his hand up to show her his Command Seals again, "Unless you are?"

Caster tightened her jaw.

"Fine, I'll contact Saber and Assassin," Caster reluctantly ground out.

 _ **'I'm surprised that she's not lying about the loopholes,'**_ Kurama said, _**'Her anger spiked like crazy when she said that she wasn't trying to slip any loopholes past you.'**_

 _'It's because she doesn't want to risk it,'_ Naruto explained, _'She can't be sure whether I was lying about my ability to detect lies or not, but she doesn't want to risk me asking her the question, 'Are there any loopholes that you can exploit in that Geis?' Because if she answers no, and then my ability to "detect lies" picks up on it, I could cancel the deal, and we would go back to asking her any questions we want without the guarantee that we would simply withdraw afterwards. This deal is the best option for her too, ya know?'_

* * *

"...And that's how we interrupted your fight," Archer finished.

Saber turned her head to look at Naruto with a warm smile on her face, "Once again, you have honestly surprised me, Naruto. The way you handled that situation was better than I could have ever expected. Good work."

Naruto blushed as he rubbed the back of his head, "Hehehe, I know I was awesome. Praise me more."

"Yes, you certainly deserve praise for what you did," Saber commended.

While the Master and Servant duo were talking, Archer, who was walking beside them, discretely analyzed Naruto's features.

 _'He doesn't look all that bright and certainly doesn't act like it, but when it comes to combat... even without magic, this boy is one of our most dangerous enemies in this war. We need to be careful,'_ Archer noted to himself, _'Today was probably the first time he's revealed so much about himself. That confrontation against Caster wasn't like the time he forced a draw against Illya, nor was it like the time he convinced Rin to back down. No... this time... this time, he unequivocally won. This time, he completely_ _outmaneuvered his enemy and seized his victory.'_

The three took a turn and Naruto laughed at something Saber said before he said something back, to which, Saber turned red.

 _'Obviously, that only happened because I arrived,'_ Archer thought to himself as he continued his analysis, _'But... a normal person caught in that situation would have just been relieved with the fact that someone who could match Caster had arrived to save them. This blondie, on the other hand, instantly started comparing everyone's skills and techniques, which he then proceeded to use to maximum effect. That kind of thinking and reaction... it's unnatural.'_

"Hey, Dragcher, what do _you_ like to eat?" Naruto asked, pulling Archer out of his thoughts.

"Wh-what?" The Servant of the bow asked, thoroughly confused, "Why're you asking me that?...And don't call me Dragcher."

"Well since we've established that Saber likes to eat basically everything and would eat for eternity, if given the chance-"

"I would not!" Saber protested, her face turning even more red, before Naruto continued,

"And since, as I said, I love ramen, you're the only one here who's favorite food we don't know."

Archer gave them a wry smile, "I have no favorite food. I am a Servant, did you forget?"

"Yeah, and?" Naruto asked confusedly, "Clearly you can taste food, since Saber can and she's a Servant too."

"Yes, but I haven't eaten anything since I've gotten here," Archer pointed out, "And you know, since I'm dead."

"Then, what was your favorite food before you died?" Naruto asked, unfazed by his comment.

"...I really don't remember," Archer replied after thinking about it.

Saber furrowed her brow, "You don't remember the preferences you had when you were alive? How is that possible?"

Archer smirked, "I'm not a normal Heroic Spirit. I am a Counter Guardian. When humanity is on the brink of destruction, I appear. I've been through so much since I died, that I can't even remember what my favorite food was. Although, to be honest, even when I was alive, I didn't really have a lot of preferences."

Naruto looked at Archer curiously, "Didn't have a lot preferences? That's kinda weird, isn't it?"

"Yes, I was weird person. Back when I was alive, there was only one thought that dominated my mind: to be an ally of justice," Archer revealed, "What a foolish dream that turned out to be."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Naruto pointed out.

"It doesn't sound bad, but it _was_ bad," Archer explained resolutely, "Everything I did, was for he sake of that dream, and that dream _only_. In the end..."

The two (especially Saber) waited anxiously, but Archer, unwilling to talk about his past, quickly changed the subject, "Anyway, can I ask why you two are following me?"

Naruto heaved an exaggerated sigh as if he were talking to someone especially stupid, "Because we're all going to Rin's house of course."

"I get that, but why exactly do you want to talk to Rin?" Archer asked, "Don't you know how dangerous she gets when she's awoken mid-sleep?"

"Yeah, but this is important!" Naruto exclaimed, "I absolutely _need_ to talk to her about this!"

Archer massaged his head, "Fine, but I'm staying far away from you guys when you wake her up. Who knows what she'll do to you."

"F-fine by me," Naruto consented with false bravado.

* * *

The group of three talked a bit more after that, before all three fell into a comfortable silence on their way to the Tohsaka manor.

Obviously, they could've easily made their way there in a manner of minutes by jumping on the rooftops, but Naruto wanted to walk and Saber was unwilling to leave him alone after the adventure they had been through tonight. Archer, on the other hand, was walking instead of jumping home because he simply wanted some time and cool air to review the information he'd gained tonight and to sort out his thoughts.

About five minutes away from Rin's home, Kurama spoke up.

 ** _'Hey, Naruto,'_** Kurama started, _**'I was just reviewing all the "battles" you've been through so far and I just realized something.'**_

 _'Realized what?'_ Naruto curiously asked as the group of three took another turn.

 _ **'Recently most of your battles boil down to: 'If you attack me, I'll summon Saber!'**_ Kurama mockingly noted, **_'It happened against that Rin brat and, just now, it happened against Caster.'_**

 _'The situation was a lot more complicated than that!'_ Naruto protested.

 _ **'I get that, but I wouldn't be wrong if I said that you didn't die in the last two battles because you threatened to summon Saber, would I?'**_ Kurama asked with an unsettling grin.

 _'Kuh! That's not fair, you bastard!'_ Naruto complained.

 _ **'You're a ninja and you're talking to me about 'fairness'?'**_ Kurama asked, his grin widening.

Naruto gave the the giant fox a menacing glare, _'...You win this one.'_

"Wake up, Uzumaki," Archer said, unknowingly interrupting Naruto's and Kurama's banter, "We're here."

The three stood in front of the Tohsaka mansion in silence for a few seconds before Naruto spoke up and revealed his inner feelings,

"...I'm scared."

Archer did not sugarcoat his words,

"You should be."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note - We finally broke through a hundred reviews! Yay! A heartfelt thank you to everyone who reviewed. I appreciated all of them. Even if I haven't responded, know, that I have read every single one of your reviews. We also broke through 300 favorites and 400 followers. A heartfelt thanks to them too!**_

 _ **So, I tried a new 'time jumping' style of writing in this chapter. I don't really know if it worked out or not, but I gave it a shot anyway.**_

 _ **Now, before anyone says that Caster can beat Saber and before they start using the Fate route as their source, I would like to point out that that specific battle in the Fate route was complete B.S. How can Nasu, who does such a good job with strategy, come up with such a cop out!? I'll give you guys a few examples:**_

 _ **First of all: What were Saber's instincts doing? Saber had just realized that something was wrong and suddenly bone hands appeared from the ground and held her in place. Sure, that makes sense. Now, Caster decides to stab Saber and are you seriously telling me that Saber just kind of stood there, astonished? Because it literally says that she was too astonished to move. What!? She couldn't deflect the stab or anything? She's an experienced warrior, come on! She should have easily been able to react fast enough to deflect that stab.**_

 _ **Second: Saber's reaction time. Rin is fully capable of beating the crap out Caster in a physical battle, but when Caster moves in to stab Saber, Saber is unable to react fast enough at all. Are you telling me that Caster's that fast!? If she is, then why didn't she dodge Rin's incoming beat-down? Sure she was surprised, but still, if she was that fast, then she could have probably escaped.**_

 _ **I could list a few more reasons, but this is already dragging on for too long, so I'll stop here.**_

 _ **P.S. Could someone please explain to me why the rules of God Hand keep changing slightly all the time? Does someone have the complete explanation for God Hand? Can someone please PM me that? Not the wikia explanation, please.**_

 _ **P.P.S. Could any potential Beta Testers please PM me? Reading the same chapter again and again in order to search for grammar mistakes is a huge pain.**_


	10. Preparations For War

_**Disclaimer - I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**_

 _ **I need to address two things before I start:**_

 _ **1 - Why did Archer reveal that he was a Counter Guardian? - I accidentally deleted a sentence in that dialogue. Please go back and reread that part. It should sound a lot more natural now.**_

 _ **2 - "I want to attack like Rin" - I know that many people can accidentally misread that as "I want to attack Rin" but that's not what Naruto was saying. That's why, as clarification, I changed the sentence to, "I want to go on the offensive like Rin."**_

 _ **My sincere apologies for both these points.**_

* * *

"...How could you?" Naruto whispered out, his voice weak, frail and quite high pitched.

"That's what you get for interfering with my sleep," Rin coldly responded as she glared at him with frigid eyes, "Plus, you're overreacting. It's really not that bad."

Naruto, who was lying down and recovering on Rin's sofa at the moment, turned his head up and gave the black haired girl an expression of outrage.

"YOU KICKED ME IN THE BALLS!" He yelled as Rin plugged her ears in an impressive display of speed.

Rin waited for a few seconds until she was sure that the blonde boy wouldn't start yelling again before she unplugged her ears and gave him a fierce look of disdain that undoubtedly expressed something like, 'Go die in a ditch somewhere'.

"You'll be fine," She easily responded.

 _ **'Why didn't you dodge her kick in the first place?'**_ Kurama curiously interjected, _ **'You were able to deflect that Servant in your puny school's surprise chain attack, but you couldn't react fast enough to this brat's kick to the balls?'**_

 _'I thought that it'd be best for her to get one solid hit on me to get the anger out of her system,'_ Naruto explained tearfully, ' _So I closed my eyes to prepare myself. But I never expected her to actually go for the balls!'_

 ** _'Me neither!'_** Kurama laughed as the whiskered teen's expression of pain and surprise flashed in his mind again, _**'But it looks like that brat exceeded my expectations! As a reward, I, the great Kyubi-sama, shall bestow upon her the title of 'Slightly Better Than The Average Hairless Ape'!'**_

"Hey, Rin," Naruto called out, "The giant demon in my gut wants to give you the title of 'Slightly Better Than The Average Hairless Ape'. What say you?"

"...Naruto, are you some kind of a closet masochist?" Rin asked in a clear monotone.

 _'...I think she likes it.'_

 ** _'Obviously; it's a compliment from me after all.'_**

"Anyway," Rin sighed as she got to the point, "Why are you here? What reason could you possibly have to interrupt my sleep at three-thirty in the morning?"

"Yeah... to tell you that, I'm gonna have to start by explaining what exactly happened tonight," Naruto said before he took a deep breath and launched into an explanation, "So I was just sleeping peacefully when-"

"No, I'll tell her," Archer interrupted as he materialized.

"What the hell, Dragcher!?" Naruto yelled in surprise, "I thought that you were outside, flirting with Saber!"

"Please don't build any more ships," Archer calmly responded, "There are already too many... And don't call me Dragcher."

"...What?" Naruto asked, thoroughly confused.

Archer shook his head dismissively, "Never mind. The reason I came back was because my lookout yielded nothing. Looks like nothing followed us back here."

"So where's Saber? Why'd she not come inside with you?" Naruto asked.

"She said that she wanted to keep watch for a little longer," Archer answered, "'Just in case', according to her."

"Ah."

"Anyway, why did you interrupt Naruto, Archer?" Rin interjected.

"Considering this guy's nature, the story's probably going to full of statements like, 'then I totally kicked the crap out of her!' or 'She tried to attack but was no match for the awesome Uzumaki Emiya Naruto!'," Archer predicted, "It's better if _I_ tell you what happened. This guy's simply too unreliable."

"Oh yeah... you're probably right," Rin agreed, "Go on, Archer."

Naruto's eye twitched.

* * *

"...And then you kicked this idiot in the balls," Archer finished.

Rin took a moment to process all the information dumped on her before she let loose a predatory smirk, "Heh, this is good. I've been hunting that witch for some time now. Now that we know about this 'Rule Breaker' of hers, we can finally finish her off."

Naruto grinned, "Heh, my awesomeness saves the day again!"

"Awesomeness, right..." Archer sarcastically agreed.

Naruto turned to glare at the Servant of the bow, "What, you don't think I was awesome!? Were you asleep or something when I totally beat up Caster!?"

"Oh no, I was paying full attention to your 'battle' against Caster," Archer replied with a smirk, "But it's just way too hard to take a man wearing froggy pajamas seriously."

Naruto's eyes widened before he looked down at his attire and turned a bit red.

"Oi! Caster didn't really give me time to change, ya know!" He yelled indignantly.

"Yes, yes, whatever," Archer dismissed with a wave of his hand, "Let's get on to the important bit now; tell us, why did you decide to come here at this hour."

"Hey! I'm not done yet!" Naruto protested.

"Naruto... do you want me to kick you in the balls again?" Rin asked in a quiet, eerie voice.

The phantom pain flashed through his mind and he almost let out an unconscious "Eep!".

"Y-yeah, you guys are right," Naruto hurriedly decided in a nervous voice, "Let's get down to it."

Rin nodded in satisfaction and Archer waited patiently for the blonde boy to start his explanation before the main door of the Tohsaka manor gently opened and closed.

"I have completed my reconnaissance," Saber announced as she entered the main living room where the group of three were situated.

"And?" Archer prompted.

"You were correct, Archer," Saber admitted with a smile, "No one seems to have followed us."

"I'm an Archer, Saber," Archer said in a dry tone, "Being a lookout is kinda my specialty."

Saber nodded in deference, "I agree, but it never hurts to check. Even Servants are capable of making mistakes."

Archer sighed, "I guess you're right..."

Saber looked around for a second before she asked, "So, are we done here, Naruto?"

"Actually... we were just getting started before you came in," Naruto answered sheepishly as he rubbed the back of his head.

"Just now?" Saber asked incredulously, 'What were you doing all this time?"

"We were telling Rin about all the stuff that happened tonight," Naruto explained before he turned to Rin, "By the way, Rin, you owe me one."

Rin raised an eyebrow, "Why? If it's about the information on Caster's Noble Phantasm, then it was you who payed me back on that one. If Archer hadn't been there to provide backup, you probably wouldn't have gotten out of there alive. We're completely even."

"Nope," Naruto denied as he shook his head, "I've repaid my debt by giving you information on Caster, but you still owe me for finding out that Shinji is the Master who set up that Boundary field at school."

Rin glared at the mischievously grinning Naruto for a few seconds before she let out a quiet 'tch'.

"Fine."

Naruto's grin widened, "Coincidentally, Shinji is also the reason I came here to talk to you."

Rin raised an eyebrow and allowed him to continue.

"So... I was thinking that to stop him and to keep him in check, we should add him to our alliance-"

"No," Rin instantly rejected as she made an 'X' with her arms, "Absolutely not. I refuse."

"At least hear me out!" Naruto tried.

"No way," Rin denied again, "There's no way that I'm letting someone like _Matou Shinji_ into our alliance. Plus, didn't you _just_ say that he's the one who set up the Boundary field at school?"

"Yeah, but think about it for a second; if we add Shinji to our alliance, then we can easily threaten him to dispel the bounded field," Naruto argued, "Not only that, but then we can also use his Servant to launch an assault on Caster. With three Servants against two, we have a much higher chance of winning!"

"Naruto, you say that but I think you're forgetting the fact that, in the first place, _our_ alliance only lasts until we defeat Shinji and his Servant," Rin reminded.

"And that's the other reason I'm here," Naruto said, "I want to extend our alliance to until we defeat Caster and Berserker."

Rin put a hand on her chin and gave the idea some thought.

"Why?" She asked after a while.

"Well, like Dragcher said, in a one on one battle, Berserker could probably defeat every other Servant in this war," Naruto explained, "Our other target, Caster, has Assassin to back her up. Or is it that Assassin is the main fighter and Caster's the back up...?" He trailed off before getting back on track, "Anyway, so yeah. All these enemies of ours have different advantages over us. We can either fight amongst ourselves _or_ we can respond and gain the advantage of numbers over them by extending our alliance and adding Shinji to it."

Rin closed her eyes in thought, "The idea has merit... Taking on quality with quantity, eh? Our quality's not so bad either, to be honest. Still... this is _Shinji_ we're talking about..."

Naruto sweat-dropped, "Do you really hate Shinji that much?"

"Obviously," Rin replied with zero hesitation, "But... I guess your reasoning makes sense..."

"So will you accept?" Naruto asked excitedly.

Rin put her hand on her chin and thought about it for a few more seconds.

"...Fine. I accept your proposal," she said as she held out her hand, "I look forward to working with you for a little while longer."

"...Wow, you're pretty formal," Naruto noted as he took the black haired girl's hand and shook it.

"Thank you," Rin thanked with a polite smile, "Now that that's over; get out."

"Eh? I-I'm sorry, I don't think I heard right," Naruto said, a little confused and more than a little nervous, "I just heard 'get out' but-"

"You heard completely right," Rin interrupted, the polite smile still on her face, "Get. Out."

"R-Right away!"

Even with his Kyuubi chakra cloak, he didn't think that he had ever moved faster in his entire life than now.

* * *

Haku...

 _"When a person... has something truly important to protect... that's when they can become truly strong."_

Hyuuga Neji...

" _These eyes of mine show me many things. One thing they've shown me… is that people's limitations are set, fixed, and unchangeable. Only a fool wastes his time trying to become something he can never be! The only destiny that everyone shares… is death._ "

Senju Tsunade...

" _It's because to be Hokage… is your dream… isn't it? One last time… just one last time… I place the odds on you._ "

Jiraiya...

 _"You never did get it, a real ninja is one who endures no matter what gets thrown at him… Let me explain something to you, there is only one thing that matters if you are a Shinobi, and it isn't the number of techniques you possess. All you do need, is the guts to never give up._ "

Haruno Sakura...

 _"I beg you! Please... Please bring Sasuke back!"_

Uchiha Sasuke...

 _"Naruto... Just what the hell are you?"_

Uzumaki Naruto...

 _"I'm your friend!"_

These people...

They aren't from this world.

I know that.

It's obvious.

I don't know where _he's_ from, but I do know this...

He's not from this world.

Yet...

 _"It means we're friends!"_

There's no doubt about it...

 _"A hero always arrives at the last minute, and you're an ancient hero aren't you? I have faith that you'll arrive just in time to save me."_

Wherever his friends are...

 _"I'll show you around, it's a great place!"_

That's his entire world...

 _"Didn't we bump fists? What kind of a friend would I be if I treated my friend like a tool?"_

And that's why...

 _"H-huh? Y-yeah, I'm fine."_

He's drowning... in a sea of despair.

* * *

"Hey, are you alright, Saber?" Naruto asked in concern as he set a plate of scrambled eggs down in front of her.

Saber subtly flinched as she snapped out of her thoughts, "Y-yes, I am perfectly fine."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, but when Saber refused to elaborate, he dropped the issue and headed back into the kitchen to cook some for himself.

"By the way," He started, "I had a dream about you last night."

Saber involuntarily felt her mind provide her with indecent context and, as a result, blushed a bit, "A dream... about me?"

Naruto laughed as he poured his scrambled eggs onto his plate, "Yeah. There was this Merlin guy who kept warning you about something and then you pulled out a sword and then you were crowned king. Yeah... I think it was something like that."

Saber's eyes darkened, "Ah... that."

"Say, that was your past right?" Naruto asked as he set his food down and sat on the table, "That weird priest told me that stuff like this would happen."

"Yes, that was no doubt my past," Saber said, her voice tinged with something heavy.

Naruto raised an eyebrow and took a bite.

"You don't seem to like your past a lot," He noted, his voice a bit muffled due to the food residing in his mouth at the moment.

"It's not like I necessarily don't like my past... it's just that, the part of my past that you saw, is the one part that I intend to change," Saber revealed.

"The one part... that you intend to change?" Naruto repeated.

"Yes," Saber confirmed before she took a deep breath and powered on, "That is what I want from the Holy Grail. That... is my greatest wish."

"Why? Did you not like the sword?" Naruto asked curiously.

"That sword signified kingship, and I was more than happy to get a chance to repel my country's enemies, the Saxons, and bring back peace to my land. Yet... it was a mistake. I should not have pulled out that sword, nor should I have become king, for I... I led my country to destruction."

"Did these 'Saxons' win against you guys?" Naruto asked.

"No. In fact, we successfully repelled the Saxons and brought peace to our land," Saber answered, "Albeit, with many sacrifices."

"Then how did you 'lead your country to destruction', as you say?" Naruto asked, thoroughly confused.

"In the end... I was betrayed by my own knights," Saber revealed, her voice unbearably heavy, "The king could not understand her subjects' feelings and therefore the king was betrayed and the entirety of the country, obliterated."

"And that's why..." Naruto trailed off, his shoulders sagging as if weights had been strapped on to them.

"Yes. That is the reason why I want to redo the selection of the king," Saber confirmed.

The two let themselves let a grim silence permeate the air for a few moments before Naruto spoke up again.

"...Are you sure that you were a king?"

"Yes, I am confident that I was a king, I don't think that I would've mistaken something like that," Saber dryly responded.

"Well... you just... talk more like a hero than a king," Naruto hesitantly revealed, "You said that you want to redo the selection of the king but you never said anything about getting a second chance to rule your country better or something like that. It honestly sounds like you're trying to save your kingdom rather than lead it away from destruction."

Saber's eyes widened as Iskander's words flashed in her mind.

 _"You saved them but you never led them!"_

She clenched her fists, "Why...? What did I do wrong? What is so wrong in saving your people? Why must I be a tyrant in order lead my country!?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "I never said anything about being a tyrant... This rebuttal... it isn't for me, is it? Those eyes... they're looking at someone else."

Saber grit her teeth and closed her eyes in grief, "In the last Holy Grail war... I had a discussion with Rider. A discussion on what it means to be a king. He... he said something similar to your statement."

"What did he say?" Naruto asked curiously.

Saber opened her eyes but kept them fixed on her empty plate, "According to him, a good king must be greedier, must laugh louder, and must rage harder than everyone else. He said... he said that I was simply a little girl who kept saving my country without leading them."

"Did you?" Naruto asked.

"Did I what?" Saber asked back hesitantly.

" _Did_ you only save rather than lead your country?" Naruto clarified his question.

"...Perhaps. I look back, and perhaps that was my mistake," Saber lamented, "Perhaps, if I had ruled like Rider had said, then maybe my country would not have massacred itself."

Naruto craned his head upwards and gazed at the ceiling, "You know, I come from a village. A village called Konohagakure no Sato. The head of my village was called the 'Hokage'."

 _'...Hokage... Yes, If I recall correctly, that is what you strived endlessly for...'_ Saber remembered.

"My dad was the Fourth Hokage," Naruto continued, "Sadly, he died saving the village right when I was born. With the death of the Fourth, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, took on the mantle of Hokage again and led the village right up to his death."

He grinned and closed his eyes, "Heh, if someone were to ask me what the perfect ruler would look like, my mind would immediately go to Sandiame-jiji. Sandaime-jiji was busy but he still made time to interact with the denizens of the village. He was exceedingly kind, yet he still made cold-hearted decisions for the sake of the village. Admittedly, he wasn't able to harden his heart enough to kill his evil student, but hey, he was still human, ya know? Sandaime-jiji... he was a role model, a grandfather figure, a wise old man, a friend, a great ruler, and so much more!"

He brought his head down and locked eyes with Saber, "I don't really know the full scope of the argument that that Rider guy made, or what duties the kings of old had in the history of this world, but, in my opinion, the only duty that a ruler has... is to lead his people to happiness. Different people may forge different ideals of what a ruler must be or do, but in my mind, to lead their people to happiness... that is the only job a ruler truly has."

"Do you think that Rider's beliefs led his people to happiness?" Saber asked, her eyes brimming with fiery curiosity.

Naruto shrugged, "I don't know. I agree with his views on how a ruler should lead his country instead of simply saving them. I mean Sandaime-jiji saved people too, but that was only when things were so bad that there was no one else to save them. Saving your country is fine, but I don't think that _only_ saving is a good thing. You need to help them walk on their own two feet, ya know? A ruler's job is to make a path for those feet to follow. On the other hand, I don't really like his statement about laughing and raging harder than everyone. One day, the mantle of ruler will be passed down to the next generation, and when that time comes, the next generation will follow the teachings of the old. I can't really agree with the example that a ruler like Rider's ideal ruler will set."

"Regardless of Rider's vision of an ideal ruler, the fact that I kept saving my subjects means that all I brought them, was unhappiness, doesn't it?" Saber asked, her voice hollow.

Naruto's lips twitched slightly upwards, "I wouldn't say that. The fact that your country went through such a brutal coup d'état suggests that the love that your people had for you... was probably unimaginably great."

Saber's eyes widened, "What? How can you say that! After everything that I told you, how can you come to such a bizarre conclusion!?"

"I once met a Sage called the Sage of the Six Paths. This is what he once said, 'The greatest of love can transform into the greatest of hate,'" Naruto revealed as he recalled Kakashi's retelling of his conversation with the Sage of the Six Paths when Sakura was unconscious and Sasuke and he were heading to the Valley of the End for their epic clash, "Well that's what he basically said. For a coup to be so bloody that it actually destroyed the country... your country must have loved you dearly before their rebellion."

Saber's lip trembled, "Could that... could that really be true?"

"There's no doubt about it, I promise," Naruto promised as he grinned.

Saber averted her eyes and tried her best to stop the tears from forming in her eyes.

To Naruto's immense surprise, she was actually moderately successful.

Saber's eyes were watery and anyone who looked at those emerald orbs would easily be able to tell that she was on the verge of crying.

But Saber held out. She did not let herself cry.

With a few deep breaths, Saber calmed her emotions down and the only sign that she had just suffered through immense emotional turmoil were, to anyone who knew her, the out of place sagged shoulders.

 _'The King of Knights, eh? If I told her to cry, then I'd probably wound her kingly pride,'_ Naruto thought to himself as he silently let Saber recover, _'Just being here should be more than enough.'_

Saber quickly wiped the tears that were threatening to slide down her face and let out a faint smile, "I honestly did not expect you to support my wish in redoing the past, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head, "Oh, don't get me wrong. I absolutely do not support that wish of yours, and after this little debate of ours, you should be having second thoughts as well. I just held off on it because we got into debating another matter entirely."

"What problem do you see in me redoing the past?" Saber asked in a subdued manner.

"Way too many," Naruto easily answered before he reached out with his hand and forced her forehead against his, thereby causing the Noble Servant to widen her eyes in surprise, "But Saber, one of the largest things that you should think about, is the comrades that fought and died for you. If you go back and change the past... _you'll be spitting on every single one of the sacrifices that your people made for you._ "

Saber's eyes became even wider as Naruto fiercely glared into her eyes.

He let her head go and drew his own back, "Saber... your country may have faced destruction... but... for you to selfishly decide to replace the deeds of history's heroes... that is something that I absolutely cannot forgive."

Saber's eyes clouded up as she recalled all those that had died and killed for her before she she gently closed her eyes and smiled, "Did you know, Naruto? Rider also said something similar to that."

"Did he now?" The whiskered teen asked, a little surprised, "Well, that's one more of his points that I agree with."

"He was also somewhat similar to you," Saber told him, "I believe that you two would've gotten along splendidly."

"Yeah, I would've liked to meet him," Naruto agreed, "If he was similar to me, then he must've been a really cool guy."

* * *

"Yo, Shinji," Naruto called out he spotted his purple haired friend walking through the crowded front gate of Homurahara academy.

"Hm?" Shinji responded as he turned around, "Oh, if it isn't Emiya. Didn't get lost on the way to school? My, my, color me surprised."

Naruto's eye twitched, "Are you calling me stupid!? I'm gonna-!"

He stopped himself as the original purpose of calling out to his dickweed of a friend flashed through his mind.

He closed his eyes and took a few calming breaths before he opened his eyes and started speaking again,

"Shinji, come with me. We'll probably be late for class, but what I have to say to you is much more important."

Shinji raised an eyebrow but shrugged and followed the blonde haired teen nonetheless.

* * *

"Wh-What's the meaning of this, Emiya?" Shinji asked with an air of nervousness masked with false ease.

The two Masters were standing isolated inside the student council room and the bell had rang around two minutes ago.

"Relax, no one comes here during class time," Naruto assured, "At least, that's what she said."

"That's what who said?" Shinji asked, his panic growing by the second.

"Me," Rin dramatically announced as she stepped into the room.

"T-Tohsaka!" Shinji exclaimed as he took a nervous step back, "Wh-what are you doing here?"

"Shinji," Rin spoke up in a frosty voice, "We know that you're Rider's Master and that you were the one who set up that Bounded field in this school. Release it. Now."

Shinji felt cold sweat run down his back and shivered as he took another step back, "Wh-what!? What are you talking about!? I didn't-!"

In an instant, a purple haired figure garbed in black materialized and flung her weapon towards Rin.

But Rin did not even flinch.

Because she knew...

She knew that her Servant would be there to protect her.

Archer materialized in response to the hostile action and deflected the dangerous silver blur heading towards his Master with a flick of his sword, Kanshou, and moved in for the kill with his other sword, Byakuya.

'CLANG!'

But Rider wasn't one to go down that easily.

Before Byakuya could even make contact with its target, the silver blur that had just been deflected away, found itself back in its Master's hand and locked the black blade in a contest of strength.

"Hngrh!" Archer made a grunt of exertion as the two Servants tried to overpower each other. He tried to add Kanshou to struggle but found himself unable to move his other sword from its outstretched position. In fact, he actually felt himself being _pulled_ away by Kanshou, thereby reducing the power he could add to the struggle.

"What?" The Servant of the bow growled as his eyes narrowed.

"That's a pretty fast Servant you've got there, Shinji," Naruto praised from where he was standing; a position that he had yet to move from since the start of the entire confrontation, "Rider managed to wrap her chain around Dragcher's blade and used the curtain rod as a makeshift pulley to reduce the power that Dragcher can put into this contest of strength, all in the single second that Dragcher took to deflect Rider's stake."

"He-hehehe," Shinji laughed as his confidence returned, "Check out my awesome Servant, you two! You guys think that you you can defeat me!? Don't make me laugh!"

Rin aimed her arm at him and charged up a Gandr shot while Naruto opened his mouth and casually asked, "You sure about that?"

"Huh? Can't you see what's happening _right in front of your eyes?_ " Shinji asked as if he were explaining a complicated concept to an especially dumb person.

Naruto shrugged, "Servants are a lot more powerful humans, ya know? Any second now, that curtain rod will break and Dragcher will be able to use his full strength against Rider. You're her Master, so she'll try and save you, but she won't be able to do a single thing if I use you as a shield against her."

Shinji paled at the implications of his fellow Master's statement before an important thought struck him, thereby causing the colour to return to his face.

"Servants are much more skilled than humans!" He riposted with a menacing smirk, "She'll simply use that chain to rip you away from me!"

"Oh, then I wonder what will happen to her?" Naruto easily returned with faux-curiosity, "If she uses her chain against me, then I don't think that Dragcher is just going to stand by and let an opening like that go."

"You keep calling me Dragcher, and I just might," Archer interjected, still trying to overpower Rider.

"Plus," Naruto continued, gracefully ignoring Archer's comment, "At the moment, Rin has a Gandr shot aimed at you, not to mention the fact that our Servants can't even properly fight in this place. If you were closer to Rider then maybe you would've still had a chance."

Naruto gave Shinji a wide grin, "Now though... there's absolutely no way for you to even escape."

The purple haired boy felt his his confidence drain away again as he slumped to the floor, "Wh-what to do you want from me?"

"Order your Servant to dispel the Bounded field," Rin ordered from across the room, "Now!"

Shinji looked up at Naruto with a desperate smile and tears leaking out of his wide, fear filled eyes, "Y-You guys wouldn't really kill me. W-would you?"

Naruto leveled a dark glare at the cowering boy on the floor, "...No. But we won't hesitate to beat you up so badly that you'll end up in a coma for the next twelve days."

"B-but I need this bounded field!" Shinji exclaimed, "It's for my protection! It's just intended to be threat so that you guys don't try to kill me! I never wanted to fight in the first place!"

"Liar!" Rin yelled, causing Shinji to flinch, "If that was true, then you'd have gone to the church instead of doing crap like this!"

"Th-the church?" Shinji asked, "What are you talking about!?"

"You don't know?" Naruto asked, surprise taking over his features, "If you want to withdraw, then all you have to do is break your contract with Rider and ask for asylum in the church."

The blonde haired boy paused for a bit before he smirked slyly, "It's a good thing that you know this now, right? All you have to do is break your contract with Rider and give us your Command Seals, and boom! Instant safety! It's not like you intended to fight in this war in the first place, right?"

Naruto reached for Shinji as Shinji crawled backwards, "W-wait! No, stop! I'll..."

the purple haired Master took a glance at the curtain rod and paled as he caught sight of it deforming away from its original straight shape and bending into a parabola under the pressure of the chain.

"I'll dispel it!" He gave in with a desperate yell, "I'll dispel it so please... please don't hurt me!"

"Order Rider to dispel it now!" Rin commanded.

"Rider! as soon as Tohsaka calls her Servant off, dispel the bounded field that you've set in the school!" Shinji complied hurriedly.

"...Very well," Rider quietly assented.

With that Archer and Rider both disengaged at the same time and Archer dematerialized his swords before he himself dematerialized.

Seeing that the threat had left, the purple haired Servant brought her chain back to her and raised a hand. A sharp red light sprung from her hand and engulfed the entire room.

The three Masters present all closed their eyes in response and wearily opened them a few seconds later to find that their world had been tinted red.

"This is-!" Rin exclaimed as she took a glance out the window.

"Yes, the Bounded field is dispersing," Rider confirmed, "Unfortunately, it is quite conspicuous and you told me to disperse it immediately."

Rin shook her head, "No, don't worry about it. The church will handle the cover up. If I had to guess though, I'd say that that fake priest will probably come up with some kind of crappy story about an accidental chemical problem or he'll make them forget the incident with magic. Either one would work."

"A-are you happy now!?" Shinji asked from his position on the ground, "You got what you wanted right!? So let me go now!"

"Not yet, Shinji," Naruto denied, "There's still another thing we have to talk to you about."

"Yeah, even though I hate this idea, Naruto wanted to ask you something," Rin added before she powered down her Gandr shot and lowered her arm.

"Wh-what?" Shinji nervously asked as he got up from the ground, "What more do you want from me?"

"We want you to join our alliance-"

Rin loudly cleared her throat at that.

"Fine. _I_ want you to join our alliance while Rin reluctantly agreed to my idea," Naruto corrected, "Happy, Rin?"

"Considerably so," The girl in the red overcoat chirped.

"Why the hell would I join _your_ alliance," Shinji asked derisively, "You both _just_ saw how amazing my Servant was; there's absolutely no reason for me to join you people. Although, if you beg, then I guess there's some room at my side for you two after all."

 _"Wouldn't that just bring us to the same result?"_ Naruto murmured to himself before he raised his voice to an audible volume in order to address Shinji, "Shinji, honestly, you joining us is the only way that you can get through this war alive."

Shinji raised an eyebrow, "Oh? How're you so sure of that, Emiya?"

"Let me share some free info with you, Shinji," Naruto said with an amused smirk, "Did you know that Caster went ahead and summoned Assassin as her own Servant. That means that she can easily outnumber your Servant and defeat her, and even if they can't, they still won't have any problems in sending one Servant to distract your Servant and the other to kill you."

"That's the only reason you've got?" Shinji asked, his confident countenance fading a little, "The enemy has more people and that's why I should join you guys?"

"Let me finish," Naruto said, unfazed by Shinji's retort, "Next, there's Berserker. I'll tell you right now, Berserker's probably the strongest Servant in this war. Rider will be ripped to shreds before you can even blink. After that, there's us. If you don't want to form an alliance with us, then we'll instantly attack you in order to remove another possible threat. Even here, the same conditions as Assassin and Caster apply; we'll simply outnumber your Servant, and if we can't defeat her even then, then we'll have one Servant distract her while the other one will take you down. There's no way that you won't lose and I didn't even add Rin in that scenario. Trust me, if you refuse, Rin won't hesitate to hold back."

Shinji started sweating again, "Y-You're forgetting lancer!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Do _you_ know where he is? I guess Lancer is another possible ally for you, but Lancer hasn't shown his face to any one of us since the first night. My guess is that he probably wants us to weaken each other before he can move in to attack."

Shinji clenched his fists while Rin smirked menacingly, "Don't worry, Shinji. We'll give you until school ends to decide."

She turned and started to walk out of the classroom before she stopped at the doorway and addressed Shinji without looking at him, "Oh, and don't worry about finding us to tell us your decision. Naruto will stop by your house to hear your answer. If you aren't at home until five, then we'll consider that as a refusal. Don't forget."

With that, Rin flicked her hair back and proceeded to head back to her class (The class that she was absolutely late for).

Naruto and Shinji waited in silence for Rin's incriminating footsteps to die down before Shinji opened his mouth to speak,

"Why are you still-"

"Were you the one who attacked Mitsuzuri?" Naruto interrupted in a deadly quiet voice.

"...It was my Servant that did it," Shinji answered, his tone holding a bit of anger due to being interrupted , "She's hard to contro-"

Neither Rider nor Shinji noticed Naruto's fist flying towards Shinji's face until it was too late.

'THWACK!'

* * *

"Ha, you actually punched him in the face?" Rin asked as she laughed, "I'm proud of you, Naruto."

"Thank you very much," Naruto thanked as he gave the black haired girl a mock bow.

"So, do you think that he'll agree?" Rin asked as she popped the cap on her iced tea and took a large gulp, "Ah, that hit the spot."

Naruto sat back down and unwrapped the Bento that he'd bought from one of the numerous convenience stores that littered Fuyuki city before he spoke, "I can't be sure, but judging from his expression, probably yeah. Shinji's a lot more scared and nervous about this war than you think, ya know?"

 _'If what Kurama noticed wasn't wrong, of course,'_ he mentally added.

 _ **'I don't make mistakes,'**_ Kurama growled.

 _'Right, that's why you ended up being controlled by Madara and ended up being sealed into three different people,'_ Naruto sarcastically replied.

Kurama clucked his tongue but didn't respond.

 _'Heh, looks like it's my win this time!'_ Naruto cheered.

 ** _'Savor this victory... 'cause it'll be the last one you'll ever get,'_** Kurama threatened.

 _'We'll see about that,'_ Naruto confidently replied.

Rin raised an eyebrow, "Shinji's a lot more scared and nervous about this war than I think? How do you know that?"

Naruto unleashed a giant toothy grin, "Gut instinct."

Rin's eyebrows climbed higher while Kurama face-palmed,

 _ **'Very funny.'**_

 _'Isn't it?'_

* * *

What should I do?

It's a question that almost everyone has asked at least once in their lives.

It was also the question that was dominating the mind of a certain purple haired womanizer of a Master who was sitting in his chair and gently massaging the bruise on his face that had some clean white gauze taped over it.

So deep in thought he was, that even the boisterous laughter and conversation from handful of students who had decided to stay in class for lunch could not pierce through his fog of concentration.

 _'Wh-what should I do!?'_ Shinji asked himself as his breathing became increasingly erratic, _'If-if I choose the wrong option, I'll probably end up losing my life!'_

He took a few deep breaths to stop himself from hyperventilating,

 _'Calm down... calm down. First, I have to figure out whether that info Emiya gave me was true or not,'_ He thought to himself, _'I know that what he told me about Caster and Assassin was true, since Rider already told me that and it's also true that I have no idea where Lancer and his Master is. The only way that Lancer's Master and I can team up, is of Lancer's Master approaches me. I have no way of approaching him.'_

"Senpai!" One of Shinji's 'ahem' friends called out in an overly cute manner as she walked in.

The girl looked pretty much the same age as Shinji, maybe a year younger. She had short black hair that she left open and loose and a moderately attractive face and body. One would not call her one of the most beautiful girls ever, but if someone were to ask for a list of above average looking girls in Homurahara academy, her name would be on there for sure.

 _'I don't know what Emiya and Tohsaka will do if I reject this offer, but...'_

Shinji used all his strength to suppress an incoming shiver as he recalled that frightening cerulean glare that had pinned him to the ground,

 _"...No. But we won't hesitate to beat you up so badly that you'll end up in a coma for the next twelve days."_

He shook his head a little to reclaim his focus,

 _'To be honest, the only information that I can't be sure of, is the information on Berserker. Considering that all his other info was on the dot, there's no reason that this one will be a lie-'_

"Senpai!" She called out again, noticing that the purple haired boy hadn't reacted to her call at all, "Senpai, you promised that you would eat lunch with me tod- Senpai, your face! What happened!? Are you okay-?"

Shinji gnashed his teeth and gave the girl who was calling out to him a fierce look of disdain,

"Go away! What I'm doing right now is much more important than your stupid crap!"

The girl flinched at Shinji's out of character (at least, to her) behavior and took a step back in surprise,

"S-Senpai?" She asked weakly.

"I said, GO AWAY!" Shinji yelled maniacally, "What the hell is wrong with you!? Are your ears blocked or something!?"

The girl took another step back before she started sniveling,

"B-but Senpai I-"

"Do you want me to repeat myself a third time?" Shinji asked menacingly.

The girl couldn't hold it in anymore.

Tears escaped her eyes as she turned around and ran out of the classroom, all the while, sobbing.

The other students who had stayed back in the classroom for lunch pitied the girl, but unfortunately, they knew that they didn't have enough information on the situation to actually come to a conclusion.

So, they turned tail and ran.

No, I'm serious.

Quite uncomfortable with the new atmosphere in the classroom, the five or so boys ran away.

Well, they didn't literally _run,_ but their gait sure as hell wasn't slow and steady.

The tortoise would not be happy.

Ha, get it?

...I'm sorry.

Anyway, this left Shinji alone in his classroom and, with his attention brought back to the outside world, he noticed this too.

No matter, what he was thinking of right now was much more important after all.

 _'What should I do?'_

It's a question that everybody asks at least one point in their lives.

And this was the very same question dominating Shinji's mind right now.

Only... it hadn't started today.

This question hadn't demanded his focus just today.

It had first appeared when the Holy Grail War first started.

He hadn't been selected as a Master, but his sister had.

He'd always known that he was special.

That's why...

That's why she had caved in so quickly when he had requested control for her Servant.

Sakura may have thought that she was special, but...

He was above her. There was no doubt that he was much more special than her.

He would prove it by winning this Holy Grail War.

But...

 _'What should I do?'_

He was scared.

Ever since he had gotten Rider, after a moment of brief elation, terror had gripped his entire being.

Everyday his throat tightened and his stomach flip-flopped, all in the fear of dying.

He didn't want to die.

He was scared of dying.

So terribly afraid.

But...

He couldn't quit.

He couldn't give up.

Because...

He was special.

* * *

School had ended and, just like everyday, the setting sun had painted the entire setting a vivid red. Naruto and Rin were both walking down a street devoid of all presence except them and Naruto was asking a question that had been bothering him the whole day.

"I seriously don't get it, how did that curtain rod even last that long under the pressure of not just one, but _two_ Servants?"

"Oh, that? That's because all the curtain rods in this school are fitted _into_ the walls," Rin explained in a manner reminiscent of a teacher, "When the current director of school was appointed, he made a number of changes to Homurahara academy in order to make it a "Safe Haven of Learning". installing the curtain rods into the walls was one of those changes."

"..."

"Wh-why are you looking at me like that?" Rin asked defensively, "Just because I know all this stuff doesn't mean I'm weird okay?"

"..."

"I-I'm really not!" Rin exclaimed, "I only know this stuff because I researched every aspect of the school!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Every aspect of the school? Why?"

Rin put her hands on her hips and scowled, "Isn't it obvious that I would? My mansion and Homurahara academy are the two places where I hold the home-field advantage. It's important for me to learn about every little thing that I can about those two places so that I know what I can and can't use."

Naruto nodded in understanding, "I see, I see-"

His eyes widened as a thought flashed through his mind.

"Hey, Rin," he started slowly, "you remember that time when you held me at Gandr-point on the stairs?"

"Yes?" Rin answered hesitantly, unsure of where this was going.

"At the time, what route did you expect me to take to try and escape?" Naruto asked, his words drawn out a little longer than usual and his wording still slow, as if he was afraid of her answer.

Rin raised an eyebrow, "Through the classroom closest through the stairwell, obviously. Why are you asking?"

Naruto felt a drop of cold sweat run down his back but didn't let his face indicate that anything unusual had happened,

"I-it's nothing. I just wanted to know."

Rin gave the blonde haired boy a suspicious look but did not delve deeper,

"I see..."

The two Masters let a comfortable silence settle over them as they continued walking and, noticing this, Kurama took his chance to speak.

 ** _'What was that all about?'_**

 _'What was what all about?'_ Naruto asked, confused.

 _ **'That escape route thing,'**_ Kurama clarified

 _'Ah, that,'_ Naruto nervously laughed out.

 ** _'Yeah, that,'_** Kurama dryly responded.

 _'You, uh, know how Rin said that she found every single piece of info on the school, no matter how insignificant?'_

 ** _'Yeah, and?'_**

 _'Well, when she said that, it got me thinking,'_ Naruto explained, _'Back when Rin had cornered me on the stairs, I told you that even if I didn't threaten to summon Saber, I could still escape by going through the classroom located nearest to the stairwell. But, if you think about it, there's no way that someone who knows so much about the school, to the extent that they also know how the damn curtain rods are fitted, can overlook such an obvious escape route.'  
_

 ** _'I see...'_ ** Kurama nodded in understanding, _**'So that's why you asked.'**_

 _'Yeah...'_ Naruto confirmed as he recalled the standoff in question, _'Her answer confirms it; had I tried to escape, I would've easily lost to Rin.'  
_

 ** _'What an impressive girl...'_** Kurama praised, **_'To put you in such a predicament; that girl is no doubt an incredible ally, and...'_**

Kurama narrowed his eyes at the image of the gracefully walking Tohsaka heir,

 _ **'...an incredibly dangerous enemy...'**_

"..."

"This is where we part ways," Rin said, snapping Naruto out of his conversation with the nine tailed fox.

He looked up and noticed the road diverging into two in front of him.

"I really don't care whether Shinji joins our alliance or not," Rin continued, "But make sure not to die, okay?"

Naruto thumped his chest with his fist, "Don't worry, I'll come back alive with Shinji in tow. I promise!"

Rin let out a small smile, "Very well. Goodbye then, Naruto."

Naruto gave her a cheerful wave as she turned and walked down the left lane, "See ya!"

* * *

 _ **'Didn't you have to be at that purple haired ape's house by five?'**_ Kurama asked with a sigh, _**'Don't tell me you're gonna screw up with this too.'**_

 _'Don't worry so much,'_ Naruto dismissed, _'And what the hell do you mean by 'too'! When have I ever screwed up something!?'_

 ** _'You got all_ _day?'_**

 _'Sh-shut up!'_ Naruto yelled as he turned a bit red, _'I'm just gonna change my clothes and pick up Saber! We'll be there before five! I guarantee it!"_

* * *

"You're late," Shinji accused.

"Shut up," Naruto spitefully responded.

His words weren't directed to only Shinji either.

Once again, Naruto was wearing his orange hoodie, which he left unzipped to display the black t-shirt underneath, dark blue jeans and grey sports shoes.

Accompanying him was Saber in her normal white shirt which was complimented by a blue string tie, underneath it she'd put on a blue skirt, and black tights.

"So that's what your Saber looks like..." Shinji mused as he gazed at Naruto's Servant, "Well, come in then. I've got my answer for you."

Saber maintained her stoic expression but on the inside, her mind was racing,

 _'Inside? Were he to decline our offer for an alliance, he could have set up traps inside in order to kill us without any trouble. Should we accept his offer? What if-?'_

Her mental debate was suddenly interrupted when Naruto put his arm around her neck and leaned down to her height,

"Don't worry so much," he whispered, "If he attacks us, then we'll just escape. Physical traps don't work on you Servants and your Magic Resistance is ranked A, so even most magic traps are out."

"What about you, Naruto?" Saber asked worriedly.

"Didn't I already explain it to you before?" Naruto asked back, " _I have faith in you._ "

Saber's eyes widened and her heart soared as Naruto pulled away and walked inside the creepy looking mansion of the Matous.

Once again the words that her Master had said on the first night of this war resounded inside her,

 _"A hero always arrives at the last minute, and you're an ancient hero aren't you? I have faith that you'll arrive just in time to save me."_

"Very well, Naruto" She whispered even though Naruto could not hear her, "I will not let you be harmed."

She looked up and glared at the dark and overbearing mansion in front of her,

"No matter what happens."

* * *

Once inside, Shinji had led Naruto and Saber to a room where there were two sofas facing each other with a bit of space and a coffee table separating them.

Naturally, the blonde duo sat on one side while Shinji sat on the other.

Once everybody was situated and comfortable, Shinji snapped his fingers and Rider materialized behind him.

She stood like a bodyguard. Firm, unwavering, and ready to move at a moment's notice.

Naruto gazed upon Rider's form and observed her appearance with curious interest before he greeted her cheerfully,

"Yo! My name is Uzumaki Emiya Naruto, nice to meet you!"

Rider couldn't stop the surprise that she felt from showing, but she recovered her passive expression abnormally fast,

"Greetings. You may call me Rider."

 _'So this is the boy that deflected my stake...'_ She thought to herself as she took in the brightly grinning blonde boy's appearance, _'He certainly looks normal enough...'_

Naruto nodded at her greeting before he turned his head towards Shinji,

"Alright, let's get straight to the point! Shinji, are you with us or against u-?"

"Wait," Shinji interrupted, "first tell me why your Servant is sitting there. She's just a Servant isn't she? When the hell did I give her the permission to sit there-"

Naruto unleashed a cold glare that glowed against the darkness of the room and put a silent pressure on Shinji that made the purple haired Master's mouth taste like ash,

"She doesn't need your damn permission."

White hot anger lit up Shinji's stomach and gave him the strength to push through Naruto's pressure, "Oi, Emiya. Don't get too cocky. This is my house and I'll do damn well as I please."

The two vastly different Masters locked their eyes in a silent battle of wills before Saber sighed and spoke up,

"Please put an end to this childish display. Dragging this affair on will only hinder us in the long run."

Shinji broke away from his current staring contest and redirected his glare to the golden haired Servant,

"And just who the hell gave you the right to-?"

"She's right," Naruto interrupted, "Let's stop with this stupid crap. Just tell me Shinji; will you join us?"

Shinji closed his eyes and hardened his resolve,

"...Fine. I'll join your damn alliance."

He smirked arrogantly,

"Make sure that you don't drag me down."

Naruto responded with challenging grin,

"That's my line."

* * *

"Eh? Senpai and Saber-san? You were here?" Sakura asked, quite surprised.

The group of four (Which, to a normal observer, would look like a group of three, since Rider had already dematerialized) were just leaving the Matou grounds when Sakura walked in through the front gate and called out to them.

"Oh, Sakura!" Naruto noticed, "I didn't see you today!"

"Tch, Sakura," Shinji muttered quietly.

Sakura smiled demurely and apologetically shook her head, "Sorry, Senpai. I was really busy today, so I didn't have the time to meet you."

"Nah, don't worry about it," Naruto said, "Sorry, but I can't really stay and talk."

"Are... are you three going somewhere?" Sakura asked hesitantly.

"Yeah, we have to go to Rin's house for some important work," Naruto explained before he realized that Sakura might not know who Rin was, "Ah, do you know Tohsaka Rin? She's in my grade. I think."

 ** _'-!'_**

"Yes, I know Tohsaka Rin," Sakura said in a subdued voice.

"Naruto, I do not wish to interrupt but it would be wise to leave for Rin's house now. You do remember the consequences for waking her up mid-sleep, don't you?" Saber spoke up before she gave Sakura an apologetic bow, "I am sorry Sakura, but we must take our leave."

"No, no," Sakura politely responded, "If it's important, then please go on ahead. I shouldn't keep you from your work."

 ** _'_ _Oi, Naruto,'_** Kurama spoke up, _**'That Sakura girl is pouring out an unbelievable amount of negative emotions.'**_

 _'An unbelievable amount of negative emotions?'_ Naruto repeated, _'What kind?'_

 ** _'There are a lot. Hate, jealousy, sadness, guilt. The list is pretty long,'_** Kurama informed, _**'It all started pouring out when you mentioned that Tohsaka brat.'**_

Naruto furrowed his brows,

 _'I see...'_

"Naruto," Saber urged.

"You guys go on ahead," Naruto said, "I'll catch up."

Saber looked ready to protest but one look at her Master's serious face convinced her otherwise.

"Very well," she allowed.

"Don't hold him up for too long, Sakura," Shinji ordered disdainfully before he turned to glare at Saber with the same expression, "Let's go."

Saber nodded stoically, completely unfazed by the purple haired Master's glare.

Shinji clicked his teeth and the two (three) of them left the Matou mansion.

Once Sakura was sure that the other two (three) had left, she turned towards Naruto and tilted her head,

"Senpai? Is there something you want to talk to me about?"

Naruto unknowingly made an impassive expression as he tried to figure out what to say,

"...Sakura, are you okay?"

 _ **'Good job,'**_ Kurama complimented sarcastically.

"Yes, I believe so?" Sakura answered confusedly.

Naruto gave Sakura a nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head,

"A-ah, is that so? I was just a little worried, but if you're fine, then I'm happy."

Sakura's eyes widened a tiny bit and her chest tightened.

"I-I see. As you can see, there is no need to worry."

"Y-yeah, that's great."

"..."

The two teenagers stood there in awkward silence before Sakura spoke up again,

"Anyway, I'm sorry, Senpai, but I really must get going. I have lot of work to do. Goodbye!"

With that, Sakura practically ran inside her house.

"Yeah... goodbye," Naruto responded, even though Sakura was well out of hearing range.

"..."

 ** _'...Smooth.'_**

 _'Shut up.'_

 ** _'No, really. I was actually only half sarcastic. The potency of her negative emotions actually did go down.'  
_**

 _'R-really?'_ Naruto asked hopefully.

 ** _'Why the hell would I lie about this?'_** Kurama asked rhetorically.

Naruto let out a sigh of relief, _'I'm gla-'_

 ** _'Heads up!'_** Kurama warned, **_'Another fleshbag just appeared behind you and this one's packing some crazy negative emotions.'_**

 _'-!'_

Naruto leaped forward and spun his body to face where his back was at the same time. He skidded a centimeter or two back as soon as he landed due to momentum, lowered his stance, and took the chance to fully analyze the potential enemy that he was facing at the moment.

"My, my, such an extreme reaction to an old and frail man," The wrinkly figure commented in an amused tone.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked in a low voice.

"Me? I'm the master of this house, Matou Zouken," The old man introduced.

"Matou... Zouken?" Naruto repeated as his stance eased up a tiny bit.

"Yes, that is my name," Zouken said, "I'm also Sakura's and Shinji's grandfather."

"..."

Unsure of what to believe, Naruto took a cautious step forward and loosened his stance a little more.

"What do want from me? Why meet me only now?" He asked.

The old man raised a non-existent eyebrow, "Isn't this the first time that you've been in my house?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes a tiny bit,

 _'Tch, he's right. This is the first time that I've been here.'_

"As for your other question, I want nothing from you," Zouken continued, "I merely wanted to gaze upon Sakura's and Shinji's friend with my own two eyes."

Naruto gave Zouken a look full of suspicion, "Is that so?"

Zouken responded with a toothy grin that somehow looked incredibly threatening, "Of course."

 _'You said that this guy was packing a lot of negative emotions, right?'_ Naruto asked Kurama.

 _ **'Yeah,'**_ Kurama confirmed, _**'He's out of my range at the moment, but there's no doubt about it, that guy held some serious negative emotions.'**_

 _'What kind?'  
_

 ** _'There were a lot, but out of them all, sadism stood out the most.'_**

 _'Sadism, huh...'_

"Well, this has been an interesting meeting, but I'm afraid I must leave now," Zouken said, "I have a certain... important thing that I must attend to."

With that, Zouken turned around and leisurely entered his own house.

 _'...That guy gives me the creeps,'_ Naruto told Kurama, _'And the way he said 'important thing'... it gave me insane chills. What do you think it was?'_

 ** _'How the hell should I know?'_ ** Kurama asked rhetorically, _**'Besides, I think you should focus on catching up to your pathetic party of fleshbags lest you end up arriving to that Rin brat's house too late. You don't want to get kicked in the balls again, do you?'**_

 _'Oh, crap! You're right!'_ Naruto exclaimed as he realized just how long he had spent talking to the two Matous.

He crouched down and shot forward like a rocket.

 _'Full speed ahead!'_

* * *

"Ha! Right on time!" Naruto exclaimed as he caught up to Saber and Shinji (and Rider), who were just about to knock on the Tohsaka mansion's door.

"Oh? that's a first," Shinji mocked.

"Yeah, yeah, shut up," Naruto retorted as he walked up to the door and rapped it with his knuckles thrice.

The group of three (four) waited for a few seconds before Rin opened the door with a bang.

"Oh? That was fast-" Naruto started to compliment but stopped when he realized that Rin had walked past him and out the front gate of the Tohsaka mansion.

"Tohsaka?" Shinji tried but, same as Naruto, was completely ignored.

The group of three (four) followed her example and spilled onto the road. Once outside, they looked to their left and caught sight of Rin raising her arm in a position very familiar to the two Masters present.

"Gandr!" Rin exclaimed as she fired a Gandr shot at the air.

Shinji was about to laugh out loud at her useless waste mana when, suddenly, the sound of impact hit his ears.

His eyes widened as he caught a glimpse of a small figure being obliterated by the red orb.

"Wh-what was tha-?" Shinji started to ask before he realized that Rin had fired two more shots out into seemingly random areas.

Two crashes were heard in a succession and, after a few seconds, Rin lowered her outstretched arm an let out a satisfied nod.

Shinji opened his mouth to speak again, "O-oi, Tohsaka what was that?"

"Familiars," Rin answered as she turned to face the the group of three (four) behind her, "I just got rid of three different familiars which were following you."

"Tch, I didn't even notice," Naruto complained as the now group of four (five) walked inside the Tohsaka mansion.

"Of course not," Rin said, "They were following you from pretty far away. if it wasn't for Archer, then even I wouldn't have noticed. Not that I needed to, of course. They were probably going to retreat anyway."

"Eh? Why?" Shinji asked.

"It's because my home is surrounded by a bounded field," Rin explained, "No familiars can get through it. Seeing this, all these people who decided to spy on us would've probably decided that they had already gathered enough information anyway."

Saber clenched her fists, "How could I not have noticed have these familiars following us?"

"Don't worry about it, Saber," Naruto comforted, "Like Rin said, Dragcher's probably one of the only people who could notice something like this."

Saber looked downcast, "Still..."

"Shinji," Rin chose this moment to bring the group's attention back to herself, "Materialize Rider. It's time to discuss strategy."

Shinji felt anger poke at his stomach from being ordered around, but complied nonetheless,

"...Fine. Rider, appear. It's about time that these guys told us what exactly they want to do."

Rider materialized behind Shinji while Naruto agreed with Shinji, "Yeah, it's about time that we told you about who we're going after."

"Go on," Shinji prompted with a confident smile.

"It's Caster," Naruto informed, "Rin has already come up with a plan of attack."

"Caster, huh..." Shinji mused, "Fine then, Tohsaka. Lay this plan of yours on me. Let's see if it's any good."

* * *

 _'Shinji, you fool,'_ Zouken berated in his mind as he rocked in his rocking chair in a room lit by candles in the Matou mansion, _'You've been completely defeated. There's absolutely no way for you to win now.'_

He stopped his rocking and slowly brought himself up from his chair, _'No matter what you do now, you'll always be kept in check by that Emiya brat and Tohsaka girl. You've been reduced to the status of a simple tool. Not even a particularly useful one at that; as soon as you show a hint of rebellion, Rider will be killed. You've already lost, Shinji.'  
_

His eyes narrowed, _'That Emiya brat... Sakura seems to be infatuated by that boy... I could use that. If I could use that boy to incite Sakura into action, then there's no doubt that I'll gain an unbelievably powerful card to play. If I combine that with that strange Assassin that I can make mine and the fact that Shinji joining Emiya and Tohsaka allows me to get an idea of their movements, then the hand that I'll gain in this war will be incredibly overwhelming.'_

He grinned maliciously, "Yes... it seems like I shall be joining this war after all..."

* * *

"-!"

Illya's head, which was resting on the armrest of a luxurious red sofa in the Einzbern castle, suddenly snapped up.

"Ojou-sama, did something happen?" Sella asked concernedly.

"...Rin just destroyed the familiar which was following Naruto," Illya informed with a mature smirk that, oddly enough, did not look out of place on her face, "Well, I was just about to pull away anyway, so it really doesn't matter."

"Did you get any information?" Sella asked.

"Yep!" Illya answered cheerfully as she jumped off the couch, "Looks like Rin, Naruto, and Rider's Master, some guy named Shinji who apparently belongs to the Makiri family, have all teamed up!"

"Do they intend to attack us?" Sella asked, a little worried by the prospects of facing three Servants.

Illya shrugged carelessly, "Maybe. One of my familiars spotted Naruto being taken to Caster's hideout last night though, so maybe they want to attack Caster?"

"Nevertheless, we should strengthen our defenses," Sella suggested.

Illya shrugged again, "Go ahead. It won't really matter against Servants, though. So it'll be kinda useless."

"Even so, we must-" Sella started to protest before Illya interrupted her,

"Plus, it's not like they know the route to this castle. This large forest should be enough protection for now."

Sella's frown deepened, "Ojou-sama..."

"Whatever happens tomorrow, it looks like it'll be really, really interesting!" Illya announced excitedly, "I can't wait!"

* * *

"It looks like that detestable Archer's Master caught my familiar," Caster mumbled to herself as she looked over the stone steps leading into her territory.

"Does it look they'll attack?" Assassin asked from beside her, more than a little excited at the idea of facing Saber again.

"Obviously, you fool," Caster answered disdainfully, "They have teamed up with Rider and her Master. There is no doubt in my mind that intend to use their superior numbers and information to launch an assault on us."

Assassin glanced at Caster out of the corner off his eye, "You know, most people would be worried by now."

"I am not 'most people'. Caster responded, "Let them come. Tomorrow, I will make sure to crush any hope of victory that they have before I kill them."

With a graceful turn, she left Assassin's side and reentered the temple.

 _'Not to mention that Uzumaki brat. You may have outmaneuvered me last time, Uzumaki, but this time... this time I shall obliterate you in such a way, that you will be begging me for mercy until the moment that you die!'_

"Assassin!" She called out without turning around, "Prepare for war!"

Assassin smirked.

* * *

"Hm, that Archer's vision is certainly impressive," Kotomine praised from in front of the altar of his dimly lit church, "I was certain that my Familiar more than far enough."

"Oh? Did your familiar get caught, _Master_?" Lancer asked from behind him, purposefully and spitefully drawing out the word 'Master'.

"Yes," Kotomine answered, quite unfazed by the enmity that his Servant was showing him, "But I have already gained more than enough information, so I do not find this to be a problem."

Lancer raised an eyebrow as Kotomine smirked in glee, "Looks like tomorrow... is going to be an interesting day."

* * *

"...And if that happens, then we'll use the back gate to retreat," Rin finished explaining, "Got it? And, before you ask, no, I'm not going to repeat myself a third time, Naruto. Ask Shinji if you're still confused."

"Nah, don't worry, I got it down," Naruto assured.

Shinji put a hand on his chin and smirked pompously, "Heh, this plan isn't half bad. Let's see how this actually goes."

Rin's eye twitched.

"Well, thank _you,_ " She thanked, her voice filled to the brim with sarcasm.

Naruto fist-pumped excitedly, "Alright! let's go, Homurahara alliance!"

Rin flicked her hair back, "That's our name? Sounds lame."

Naruto visibly deflated, "Oi."

* * *

Zouken smirked malevolently as he stood beside Sakura, who was watching the worms in the worm pit, and mumbled to himself,

"Looks like that Tohsaka girl is closest to victory out of all the seven Masters."

Sakura's heart ached as she clenched her fists.

"I wonder why she teamed up with that Emiya brat though..." Zouken continued to mutter to himself.

Sakura's nails dug into her palms deep enough to draw blood.

Naruto's worried face and the words that he had said to her tonight flashed into her mind,

 _"A-ah, is that so? I was just a little worried, but if you're fine, then I'm happy."_

Her voice was too quiet for anyone to hear, but the weight that it held... was unbearably heavy,

"Senpai..."

* * *

 _ **Author's Note - After writing this chapter, I realized something: Shinji is insanely hard to write as character.**_

 _ **The problem lies in the fact that his character is WAY TOO DAMN DEEP! He has so many damn layers that, even after rereading through the VN three more times, I still have no idea what layer of his I should show or express. If he was poorly characterized in this chapter, then I sincerely apologize. I just can't get a firm grasp on him.**_

 _ **Next point, I know that this chapter didn't have a lot of action and was kinda boring, but most of this stuff was absolutely necessary. I tried to spice this chapter up with numerous standoffs, but I really don't know how well of a job I did.**_

 _ **RadioPoisoning - I'm sorry that I didn't put in that hair thing that you wrote about, but I'll make sure to try my best to add that in in Naruto's later interactions with Rider. If I find the chance, that is.**_


	11. A Small Detour

_**I don't own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**_

* * *

Night had fallen upon Fuyuki city and even though the clouds had covered the moon and stars, the streetlights and the lit up houses and buildings were doing a fantastic job of brightly illuminating parts of the city.

 _Parts_ being the keyword here.

Unfortunately, it was not the same for where the Emiya residence was located. There, the streetlights were barely doing an adequate job of providing enough light to see. The streets themselves were devoid of almost any presence and the air was quiet.

"...And if that happens, then we'll retreat through the back gate," Naruto reiterated the plan that Rin had given him for the third time to Saber as they approached their house, "Happy?"

"Sufficiently so," Saber replied, nodding her head in a satisfied manner, "Now that you have recited the plan three times, the chance of you forgetting it is incredibly minimal.

They took a left turn and entered the grounds of the Emiya residence.

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto grumbled as he fished out the house key from his pocket and unlocked the main door, "Just how hopeless do you guys think I am anyway?"

Saber smiled in amusement as she dodged the question, "I shall be waiting in the dojo. Please take your time and make sure to cook up a satisfactory amount of dinner before coming to me to train," She almost salivated, "I shall be eagerly waiting."

Naruto's eye twitched, _'I have a feeling that she wasn't really talking about the training in that last part.'_

With a nod, Saber took her leave.

Naruto watched her walk away for a few seconds before he sighed in resignation and stretched his arms out,

"Alright! Let's get this over with!"

He brought a hand to his chin and stroked it as he walked towards the fridge in order to select the ingredients.

 _'Now, what should I make?'_ He wondered to himself, _'Let's go with something simple- eh?'_

Opening the fridge, Naruto found something unusual.

 _'Two packages wrapped in plastic bags and a note?'_

Leaving the packages for later, he took out the note, closed the fridge (electricity bills were a thing, ya know!?), then started reading.

 _I know that you've been staying up pretty late and, if you're willing to sacrifice your sleep for it, then it must be pretty important to you._

 _Which is why I cooked some food for both you and Saber!_

 _So just focus on doing whatever you're doing! I'll do the cooking!_

 _All you need to do is heat it up in the microwave._

 _Sincerely,_

 _The Super-Awesome and Ultimate Fuji-nee_

The note was cheesy and corny and incredibly stupid.

But...

It still made him smile.

* * *

Saber sensed a presence enter the dojo and opened her eyes,

"Naruto? I did not expect you to have finished cooking this quick... You didn't make cup ramen again, did you?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, Fuji-nee already did the cooking, so I just came here. We'll heat the food up once we're done."

Saber nodded in understanding as she brought herself up, "I see... well then, I have already prepared a bokken for the both of us. here you go."

Naruto took the bokken off her hands and retreated a few steps.

"This is far enough right?"

Saber nodded, "Yes. Prepare yourself Naruto."

Naruto tensed his muscles in anticipation.

Saber took a step forward and used that step to propel herself towards her opponent.

"Here I come!"

In a flash, she was upon him, ready to deliver a left to right, downward, diagonal slash to his chest.

 _'Well, time to get beat up again.'_

* * *

"I am well aware that I have mentioned this before, but I must say it again," Saber said as she helped up the battered and bruised Naruto.

"What?" Naruto prompted sourly.

"Every time we train, the speed in which you improve at never fails to surprise me," Saber continued, slight traces of astonishment leaking into her voice, "Not to mention that unnaturally fast recovery speed."

Contrary to what she expected, instead of a smile or grin, Naruto gave her a dissatisfied pout, "Still wasn't enough to beat you though."

Saber looked surprised for a second before she let an encouraging smile overtake it, "Don't worry, Naruto. I'm sure that you will be able to surpass me one day."

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto brushed off.

Saber stared curiously at his strange behavior but didn't comment on it.

Together, they reentered the house before they split off, with Saber sitting down at the dining table and Naruto walking up to the fridge in order to retrieve the food that Fujimura left for them.

Just as he was about to open the fridge though, a sudden thought struck him,

 _'Wait a minute... wasn't Fuji-nee really bad at cooking? Like really, really bad?"_

It took him a few seconds and a deep breath to muster up the courage to open the fridge and, even then, his hand wouldn't stop trembling. He hesitantly reached inside and pulled out one of the packages. Another deep breath later, The contents of the package were lying on the platform near the sink.

The sight that awaited him was not pleasant.

Not pleasant at all.

 _'Wh-what the hell is this?'_

The 'food' in question looked like a smattering of ingredients on top of some sort of fried rice. On top of the colorful mixture of... things, was a giant yellow layer that oddly resembled the outermost layer of a cake.

He hesitantly leaned in and took a small whiff before he drew back with a snap and covered his nose with his hands.

 _'Holy crap, it burns! Ow! How much damn mustard did she put in this damn thing!?'_

Honestly, he wanted to just throw the whole thing in the trash, but a small part of his mind was curiously asking, _'Don't you want to know what this abomination is even supposed to be?'_

A short mental debate later, and the 'food' was curiously being poked and prodded by a pair of chopsticks.

 _'Damnit,_ _curiosity!'_

"Naruto, are you done?" Saber eagerly asked from the living room.

"Not yet," Naruto replied automatically, too focused on his task to spare more than a minuscule amount of attention to Saber.

Saber raised an eyebrow, _'From the sound of it, he seems to be incredibly focused on something... He must be modifying the dish to make it taste even better!'_

A faint smile broke through her stoic expression, _'What could he be adding to the dish? I can't wait!'_

Back in the kitchen, Naruto broke through the layer of mustard and dug his chopsticks deep into the rice to find some sort of clue.

 _'-!'_

At last, he felt his chopsticks grab hold of something that actually had a bit of toughness in it. Carefully, he pulled out the item and brought it in front of his face to examine it.

The ingredient in front of his face was a small and squishy pink cube that looked like it was as delicate as soft tofu yet still did not split when a small amount of force was applied.

 _'This is... salmon? Is this supposed to be salmon fried rice!? What the hell!? How did she mess something as easy as salmon fried_ _rice up!? Is she an idiot!? Is she retarded!?'_

The chopsticks snapped in hand,

 _'What the hell do I do now, Saber's going to-'_

"Naruto, what... is this?" Saber asked from beside him as she stared intently at the abomination laid out on the table in front of her.

Naruto remained silent, buckets of cold sweat dripping down his back.

"Is this the _food_ that Taiga left for us?" Saber asked harshly, making sure to add extra emphasis on the word 'food'.

Naruto gave her a silent and hesitant nod, his perspiration increasing by the second.

 _'Damnit, Fuji-nee!'_

Saber grimaced, "Even I cannot... but... I must..."

Naruto's eyes infinitesimally widened as a sudden thought struck him.

 _'Wait... I take back everything I said. Good job, Fuji-nee!'_

Naruto put a hand on Saber's shoulder and let an expression of extreme resignation bloom on his face.

"Y-yes?" Saber prompted nervously, a little unsettled by his expression.

"We have no choice now," Naruto announced in a solemn manner, "You can't cook and I'm a pretty terrible cook too, so the only option available to us is..."

Saber discreetly gulped.

Naruto's eye's twinkled with mad glee as his face morphed into a wide and excited grin,

"...CUP RAMEN!"

Saber, the prim and proper King of Knights, groaned.

* * *

She saw it.

She saw it all.

From the training trip...

To the rescue of the Kazekage...

To the reunion with Uchiha Saskue...

To the hunt for Akatsuki members...

To the pursuit of Uchiha Itachi...

To...

 _"Ma, I thought I told you to summon us to Konoha!" Fukasku said as Naruto looked around confusedly._

 _They were supposed to have been summoned to Konoha, but it seemed like Shima had made a mistake and had summoned them to a giant crater._

 _Shima gave the bare surroundings a sad look before she slowly gestured to the iconic Hokage monument,_

 _"Look carefully, this is Konoha."_

 _Naruto's eyes widened._

* * *

The sun was shining brightly through the window at the end of the room and was lighting up the room in a comfortable yellow light when, suddenly, Saber's eyes shot wide open.

She was panting and sweat dripped down her face as she gripped the futon underneath her in a tight grip.

One could easily tell that her entire body was trembling.

 _'H-how?'_ She frantically asked herself as she tried to calm her racing heart down, _'What kind of monster is capable of completely obliterating an entire city?'_

She took deep, shaky breaths, before, five minutes later, she was finally able to calm her pounding heart and loosened the tight grip that she had on her futon.

She turned to look in Naruto's room.

 _'Naruto... did you really fight an opponent like that? An opponent who can destroy an entire city with ease? Did you really gain enough power to stand up to a person like that?'_ She frowned and gazed at her hand, which was still trembling slightly at the image of the devastated Konoha, _'I'm not sure that I have enough power to even survive against an enemy like that...' _

Her eyes narrowed, _'If you managed to survive against an opponent like that, then... just how much more powerful did you used to be than me?'_ Her mind flashed to the strange behavior that Naruto had exhibited after the spar last night, _'Is that why you are unsatisfied with being unable to defeat me despite your extraordinary growth rate?'_

* * *

Once Saber had completed her daily hygienic rituals, she walked into the living room and surprisingly found Naruto making breakfast.

"Naruto? Is there a reason for you being awake early today?" She asked curiously.

Naruto turned his head back to look at her at the sound of her voice and gave her a cheerful smile, "Oh hey, Saber," he greeted before answering her question, "Nah, today's nothing special. I just happened to wake up early today."

Saber smiled slightly in return and took a seat at the table. She subtly sniffed the air as Naruto turned back to focus on his cooking.

"Eggs again?" She asked, a little put out.

"Oi, be glad that I can even make eggs," Naruto said, easily picking up on her disappointment, "Before I met Sakura, all I could make was cup ramen."

Saber raised an eyebrow, even though her Master couldn't see her, "When did you meet Sakura?"

Naruto shrugged as he stirred his frying pan, "About a year ago, I think?"

"Then what did you eat before you met Sakura?" Saber asked curiously, "Clearly Taiga cannot cook, and, as you have stated, neither can you. On that matter, I have never seen Kiritsugu cook either..."

Naruto shrugged again, "I always just ordered food from restaurants," he recalled as his tone became oddly wistful, "Kiritsugu was never around much. He was always out doing god knows what. Whenever he was here though, we always tried to cook some food ourselves. Kiritsugu said that always eating restaurant food was way too unhealthy."

He laughed as he brought out the plates and poured the scrambled eggs evenly onto them, "We sucked though. Anything we made tasted like crap. We'd always have to force ourselves to finish that trash."

Saber surveyed the Naruto's nostalgic expression as he set down the plates on the table.

She masked a frown. It was quite surreal hearing the cold-hearted Master that she'd fought for in the last war spoken about with such fondness. Even more surreal was the way he was being described. She simply could not picture the stone-faced Kiritsugu cooking food alongside Naruto and warning him about the dangers of restaurant food.

"Did he really do that?" Saber asked disbelievingly.

Naruto grinned and nodded, "Yep!" He even had his own personalized apron!" His grin curved upwards mischievously as he leaned closer to her and whispered conspiratorially, "Want to see?"

She wanted to say no. She really did.

"...Yes."

She just couldn't resist.

Naruto's mischievous grin widened, "Wait right here."

With that, he headed back into the kitchen, bent behind the door, and opened a cupboard.

Saber waited patiently for a few minutes and slowly ate her scrambled eggs before she heard the loud slam of a cupboard closing and spotted Naruto walking out of the kitchen with a folded up black apron on his hands.

He set the apron down on the table, making sure to avoid the food, and flattened the entire article of clothing in order to display it properly.

Saber took a curious look at it and noticed one fact stand out to her immediately, _'Black... why am I not surprised?'_

True to her thoughts, the apron was indeed black with a giant orange spiral crudely spray painted in the centre. The orange spiral did not look like it was meant to be put on there and clashed horribly with the black background.

Naruto grinned proudly, "The spiral was made by me. It looks awesome, doesn't it?"

Saber imagined Kiritsugu wearing this apron and smiled amusedly. Her amused smile widened as she imagined him wearing this over his professional outfit during the previous war.

Suddenly, his final interaction with her flashed into her mind,

 _"Saber, by the power of my third Command Seal, I order you to **use your Noble Phantasm to destroy the Holy Grail!**_ _"_

She quickly sobered at the memory.

"You okay, Saber?" Naruto asked, not missing the plummet in his Servant's mood as he picked up the apron and gently folded it up.

Saber nodded stiffly, "Yes, I'm fine."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

Saber stared at his expression before she sighed and caved, "Tell me, Naruto, how much did you really know about Kiritsugu?"

Naruto shrugged, "Practically nothing."

Saber blinked at his quick and honest response, "I honestly thought that I would have had to make you disbelieve the fact that you knew anything about Kiritsugu."

Naruto shrugged again, "It's not like I have any delusions. I know that Kiritsugu hid more than just a few things from me."

Saber's forehead wrinkled, "Why do you recall him so fondly then?"

Naruto smiled, "Why do I have to know what a person is hiding to be close to them? Sure, knowing someone's secrets is an easy way to tell whether you're close to them, but it isn't the only way. If you're really close to someone, then you don't need to know their secrets to instantly tell that you're close to them. Kiritsugu and I were like that. Kiritsugu kept his secrets from me and I kept my secrets from him, but I have no doubt in my heart that Kirirtsugu and I had a bond."

Saber's forehead wrinkled further, "Bond? What kind of bond?"

Naruto took a bite of his scrambled eggs before he answered, "He was kinda like an uncle to me, I guess? I don't really know what having an actual uncle feels like, so it's the best spot that I could choose for him."

"He already made it into your surrogate family?" Saber asked, more than a little surprised.

Naruto's smile turned into a full blown grin, "Of course! Sure, he wasn't around much, but he still took care of me, visited when he could, and even gave me his last name. There's no way that the wouldn't make it into my family!"

Saber finished the last of her scrambled eggs and looked contemplatively at the table as Kiritsugu's hateful glare, the one that he had shot at her after the death of Lancer and his Master and their debate of ideologies, flashed into her mind.

The black, folded up apron caught her eye and she involuntarily once again recalled the image of Kiritsugu wearing the apron over his professional clothes during the previous war.

Her lips twitched upwards.

* * *

"Yo, Emiya," Shinji greeted with a smirk as Naruto entered the classroom, "You ready for tonight?"

Naruto pumped his fist and grinned, "Obviously! This is gonna be a piece of cake!"

Shinji's smirked increased in size, "Just try not to hold us back," he shook his head condescendingly, "It'd be really terrible if you get lost behind."

Naruto promptly flashed him the middle finger.

Shinji chuckled before he went back to flirting with the crowd of girls around him.

Naruto turned away from Shinji and made his way to his seat. He greeted Issei, who was sitting at the desk behind his, and dropped his bag beside his chair before dropping down on the chair himself.

"Is there something happening tonight, Emiya?" Issei asked curiously.

Naruto smirked, "Heh, tonight Shinji and I are going to have a little competition. Obviously, I'm going to kick his ass."

Issei raised an eyebrow, "A competition? What kind?"

Naruto's smirk allowed a hint of dark enthusiasm show itself as his cerulean eyes glowed with excitement, "it's just... a little event to see who can get the most bad guys."

Issei looked a little nervous at Naruto's facial expression, "I-I see. You're talking about a video game, right?"

Naruto "Hm"ed as the bell rang and he turned back to face the board.

"I'm late!" Fuji-nee's voice came from the hallway.

Naruto sighed at her antics, all traces of adrenaline gone from his face.

Fuji-nee rushed in and, surprisingly, actually managed to avoid tripping on the ground this time.

"Hello everyone!" She cheerfully greeted.

"Stand!" The class president ordered as per the custom.

Naruto stood up along with he rest of class.

"Bow!"

After bowing, everybody took their seats.

"Listen up, everyone, 'cause today there's some really important stuff that I need to tell you guys!" Fuji-nee ordered, "There's a university coming over to give a presentation and they..."

Naruto smiled as Fujimura kept speaking.

He mentally shrugged, it wouldn't hurt to actually pay attention to class for once.

* * *

"You look like crap," Rin noted as Naruto collapsed in front of her.

It was time for lunch and the two were once again situated on the roof. The sun, which was laid completely bare above them, would have brought down unbearable heat upon them were it summer. Thankfully, the cool winter air was doing a great job of staving off the heat.

Rin had made her way to the rooftop as soon as lunch had started but Naruto took about five minutes longer to make his way here and stumble through the door before he promptly collapsed.

"What happened?" Rin asked with an unashamed amused smirk plastered across her face.

Naruto's eyes glazed over, "So... many equations..." He mumbled out.

Rin's smirk got wider, "Oh? Math? You actually paid attention? I'm surprised, Naruto."

Her eyes narrowed as the focused face that Naruto had made in the confrontation against Berserker flashed in her mind.

Her smirk dimmed, "You didn't really strike me as the type of guy who actually paid attention in class."

It was true; the face that the cheerful blonde boy had made back then and the one that he usually made was different. Normally, it would be very hard for someone to notice, but if one contrasted the face that he made usually and the face that he made during combat, then one would instantly notice just how infinitely more focused Naruto looked in situations concerning the latter.

Naruto, oblivious to Rin's thoughts, slowly pulled himself up and plopped down beside her.

"It was terrible," he said as he tiredly rubbed his eyes, "It was so hard to try and remember equations again."

Rin raised an eyebrow, ""Again"? When was the last time you used these equations?"

"I had to practice similar equations about ten years ago," Naruto absentmindedly answered as he continued rubbing his eyes, "They weren't the same equations but they were very similar."

"You used to practice eleventh grade equations when you were ten years old?" Rin asked, surprised.

Naruto's eyes subtly widened as he realized his mistake, "A-ah yeah. I was forced to do it."

Rin suspiciously narrowed her eyes, "Oh? Who forced you?"

Naruto nervously scratched his cheek, "Uh, just a teacher of mine."

"A private tutor?" Rin probed.

Naruto shrugged, "Something like that."

Rin eyes narrowed further before she smiled sultrily and put her arm around Naruto.

She pulled the blonde boy closer,

"Why don't you tell me everything?" She asked huskily.

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "What're you doing?"

Rin stayed in the same position for a few seconds before she sighed and backed off.

"Ugh, I seriously thought that I could embarrass you enough so that you would tell me everything!" She exclaimed with a pout.

Naruto squinted his eyes in confusion, "By just leaning close to me?"

Ron's pout got... sulkier, "It would've worked on any other guy!"

Naruto confusedly stared at her for a few seconds before he laughed, "Ha, you're so weird!"

Rin sighed as her shoulders slumped, "I can't believe that I got called weird by the largest weirdo of them all..."

Naruto's laughter stopped and his eye twitched, "Oi."

* * *

School had ended and, on the desolate road and underneath the vivid madder sky, Naruto, while walking home, found himself trying to identify a strange yet pleasant feeling that had infected his body ever since the bell indicating that school had ended had rang.

The sensation felt quite familiar, but there was nothing quite supernatural about it.

For some reason, Mitsuzuri's words responded to his pondering.

 _"Uzumaki-kun, it's almost as if you're in a dream. Instead of acting, all you do is react."_

He brought up his fist and clenched it,

 _'Maybe...'_

His feet came to a stop and he simply stood there for a few seconds before he made his decision and turned around.

There was something he wanted to do before he went back home.

Around ten minutes of walking through an easily memorized path later, Naruto found himself standing in front of an innocuous house.

The worn, bronze colored plaque at the entrance of the path read,

 _'Mitsuzuri Household'_

He rang the bell and waited for a few seconds.

 _"Hello, who is this?"_ A feminine voice politely asked from inside the intercom built into the bell.

"Uh, hello," Naruto greeted back, "I'm a..."

Ayako's words flashed in his mind,

 _"We're your friends after all."_

"...friend of your daughter's. I just wanted to visit her."

 _"A friend? I'll go ask Ayako about you. What's your name, dear?"_

"Naruto," Naruto replied, "Uzumaki Emiya Naruto."

The sound from the intercom died away before, around a minute later, it buzzed back to life,

 _"Yes, Ayoko said she knows you. Sorry for the trouble, please come in."_

The metal gate blocking the way into the property swung open.

"Thank you," Naruto said as he walked in.

He walked through the front garden and spotted the main door into the house slowly swing open. From inside, a woman who resembled Ayako a fair bit and looked like she was probably in her mid-forties, waited politely for him.

The woman bowed courteously as he walked up to her, "Welcome, my name is Mitsuzuri Eriko. I am Ayako's mother; pleasure to meet you."

Naruto shifted uncomfortably at the polite atmosphere and masked a grimace with a polite smile before he bowed in return, "A-ah, yes, pleasure to meet you too."

Eriko took a second to inspect Naruto's appearance before she suddenly put a hand over her mouth and giggled.

"You and Ayako are quite similar," She informed, "both of you seem so out of your element when forced to be polite."

Naruto sheepishly rubbed the back of his head at being found out and laughed nervously.

Erika stopped giggling and gave the blonde boy a smile, "Oh, don't worry, dear. Like I said, I'm more than just a little used to seeing this from Ayako."

Naruto chuckled, genuinely this time.

"Go meet her," Eriko said, "Her room is at the end of the hall and then turn right." Her smile disappeared, "None of her other friends have visited her, so she's been cooped up in there all alone for the past few days."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in surprise, "None of them?"

Eriko nodded with a sad smile, "Unfortunately, none of the friends that she spends time with are actually close enough to her to visit her. The only one that I know of, is a girl named Tohsaka Rin."

Naruto nodded as he recalled how Rin had reacted when he'd told her about Ayako's disappearance.

 _"Ayako's missing?"_ She'd said. Not "Mitsuzuri" but "Ayako". Rin knew Ayako well enough that she was already on a first name basis with her. He hadn't payed attention to it before, but it was certainly a clue that he'd missed in hindsight.

Eriko's smile morphed into a happy one, "She was quite happy to hear that you had come, you know? Of course, she tried to hide it from me, but does that girl really think that she can fool me?"

Naruto barely managed to stop his surprise from showing up on his face, "I-is that so?"

Mitsuzuri was happy to see him? While it was true that she tended to call out to him a lot, he hadn't thought that they had really connected on a deeper level. Had she created a bond with him without him even realizing it?

Eriko nodded happily, "Yes. Thank you for becoming friends with my daughter."

Naruto nodded guiltily, "N-no problem."

Eriko brought her hands together with a clap, "Well then, I'll leave you to it."

With that she stepped aside to let him inside and closed the door behind him as he entered.

He took off his shoes and looked around.

The house was fairly large and brightly lit with lcd lights. To the right, there was a dining table and beyond it lay a door that was half opened, displaying the kitchen behind it. To the left, there was a large couch and an amazingly large 140 by 140 centimeter tv hanging on the wall. To the right of the left wall, there was a small mahogany staircase that led to the upper floors. Finally, down the middle, there was a long hallway that led deeper into the house. The house's walls were covered in cream colored and slightly worn out wallpaper that had floral patterns on it.

Following Eriko's instructions, Naruto made his way through the hall in the middle and glanced occasionally at the numerous doors that he passed. As he walked, he recalled all the interactions that he had had till now with Ayako.

To be honest, he didn't even know why she had approached him in the first place, nor did he remember when.

 _"Uzumaki-kun~, do you wanna help me with my project?_

For some reason, she had kept pestering him for long time now.

 _"No, no, you're doing it all wrong! You pull the bowstring back like THIS!'_

Almost everyone else had left him alone since he never really started a conversation on his own initiative. Everyone was friendly with him, but almost no one actually got deeper than his first layer.

 _'Hey, hey, Uzumaki-kun, your class already took Fujimura-sensei's test, right? Can you please tell me what was on it?'_

Not even Mitsuzuri.

 _'Are you sure you don't_ _wanna come over and study? Your grades are really bad y'know?'_

So why did she talk to him so much? This wasn't even like his situation with Sasuke, Mitsuzuri and he had never even met before she had started pestering him.

 _'Whoa, your eyes are so BLUE!'_

Well... he couldn't say that he didn't like her. Someway, somehow, she had managed to become his friend, even though she hadn't even made it past the first layer.

 _'Hehe, bullseye! I win again!'_

He mentally shrugged at the mystery as he reached the end of the hall and turned right. In front of him was a light brown wooden door with "Ayako" written in colorful bubbly letters and surrounded by cartoonish rabbits.

He rapped his knuckles on the door, making sure to avoid damaging the decorations.

"Come in," Mitsuzuri's subdued voice allowed.

Slowly, Naruto cracked open the door.

The contrast was vivid. While the outside was brightly lit, the inside of Mitsuzuri's room was completely dark. The only light source in there was a tv which was simply playing static.

He closed the door behind him and let his eyes wander.

Even with only a minimal amount of light provided, his keen eyes easily noticed the plain wooden walls and the numerous posters of bows and arrows that adorned them. The TV was located at the middle of the right end of the room and, facing it, was a large sofa that was located at the middle of the left end of the room. The only other notable piece of furniture was the desk, which had a PC on it, which was located right beside the TV and was facing the right wall. The lavender colored thick curtains, which were located at the opposite end of room and faced the door, were drawn, refusing the red light of the setting sun from entering.

Mitsuzuri was huddled up on the sofa and had a large lavender blanket wrapped around her.

She looked terrible. Her hair was messy, she was unusually still, and her eyes were unfocused.

She looked nothing like the cheerful and vibrant Mitsuzuri Ayako that he was used to seeing.

"...Where do you sleep?" Naruto asked by way of greeting.

Mitsuzuri cracked a small smile, "The sofa can turn into a bed. It's very useful." Her voice was very soft, which was incredibly out of place when it was coming from _the_ Mitsuzuri Ayako.

They spent a few seconds in silence to collect their thoughts before Naruto sighed tiredly and plopped down beside Mitsuzuri.

"You feeling okay?" He asked.

Mitsuzuri nodded slightly as her smile receded, "The doctor says that a lot of my blood was taken from me and that I'll have to rest for a few days. Other than that though, I'm fine."

Naruto stared at the ground melancholically as he recalled Shinji's admission on how Rider had attacked Mitsuzuri. He wanted to believe Shinji when he said that Rider had gone out of control, but past experiences and a good grasp of Shinji's character easily suggested otherwise.

"Do you remember what happened?" He asked, a little hesitant to hear the answer.

Mitsuzuri shook her head, "No... all I remember is a flash of black and purple before waking up on a hospital bed."

Naruto narrowed his eyes at the ground and clenched his fists.

Mitsuzuri let a small yet amused smile appear on her lips, "I'm surprised that you came to visit me."

Naruto took a quick glance at her before he fixed his gaze on the ground again,

"Hey, Mitsuzuri... I came here to visit you but, now that I'm here, I can't help but ask a question that's been bothering me ever since you gave me that lecture on not spending enough time in reality."

Mitsuzuri looked surprised, probably at his willingness to bring up the topic, before she nodded her assent.

Naruto licked his dry lips before he hesitantly started speaking, "Why did you keep talking to me even though I never tried to strike up a conversation with you? Why did you keep chasing me even though I never came to you. Why... why did you become my friend... even though I never let you in?"

Mitsuzuri blinked at the question before her smile turned nostalgic, "Do you remember? I first spoke to you in sixth grade."

Naruto guiltily refused to meet her eyes.

Mitsuzuri smirked, "I thought not. It was a normal day and I was just talking with my friends, when..."

* * *

"...And then, he fell into the puddle!" A black haired girl, Tenri, laughed.

Ayako and another brown haired girl, Sachi, who were both crowded around a desk alongside Tenri, laughed at the conclusion of the Tenri's story.

"W-wait, seriously?" Ayako giggled, "Did that really happen?"

Tenri nodded furiously, "Yes! There's no way that I could come up with a story like this!"

Ayako's laughter increased in volume as she doubled over.

"Oh god, that's way too funny!" She exclaimed as she gasped for air.

Tenri grinned, "I know right?"

Ayako wiped her tears and picked up the wrapper of treat that she'd eaten a few minutes ago. She excused herself and walked towards the front of the room, where the trash can was located. She dropped the wrapper into the trash can and was about to head back, when...

Her eyes met cerulean irises belonged to a blonde haired boy resting his chin on his hand which was propped by his elbow.

She was about to look away in order to avoid any misunderstandings but...

She couldn't tear her eyes away. It took her a moment to realize why.

It was because they were unusual.

She wasn't talking about the strange color that was rarely seen in Japan, and nothing was unusual about the shape.

No, the unusual part was how he was looking at her.

Or, more accurately, how he wasn't.

Their eyes were directly staring at each other, but only her's were locked to his. It was as if... as if he wasn't even looking at her, even though she was standing right in front of his line of sight. His eyes were unfocused and didn't even regard her as a presence.

She shrugged forcefully as she tore her gaze away. Who knew, maybe he was just one of those guys who daydreamed a lot?

But, even as she thought that, she couldn't help but want to investigate more.

"Hey, Mitsuzuri, you wanna join us? We're going to the cafeteria," Tenri asked with Sachi in tow.

Ayako debated the choice for a few seconds before a quick glance at the whisker marked boy settled it.

"Nah, I don't fell like walking too much today," Ayako declined with a smirk, "You guys go."

Tenri shrugged, "'Kay. Let's go, Sachi."

Sachi nodded and they both left the classroom.

Good, now she could focus on investigating that strange boy.

She made her way over to him and cleared her throat to indicate her presence.

The whisker marked boy didn't react.

Her eyes twitched in impatience before she leaned down and tapped his shoulder. The blonde haired by blinked as he turned his head to look at her.

"Yo! What's up, umm..." He trailed off, probably because he didn't know her name.

"Ayako," Ayako cheerfully provided, "Mitsuzuri Ayako."

"Right, Mitsuzuri-san. Do you need me for something?"

Ayako shot him a grin, "Nah, it's nothing. I was just wondering why you were just sitting there. It's lunch time y'know?"

Naruto grinned and gave her a thumbs up, "I've already eaten. Finished my cup ramen in like two minutes!"

Ayako raised an eyebrow in surprise, "Two minutes? Doesn't cup ramen take at least three minutes to cook?"

The blonde boy nodded, "Yep, but I cooked it at home and brought it in a lunch box."

Ayako laughed, "Won't that make the cup ramen all disgustingly cold though?"

The blonde boy looked indignant, "Listen up! I'm about to tell you the most wise thing that you'll ever hear in your life: cold or hot, it doesn't matter. Ramen... is ramen.

Ayako snickered at his antics.

The two continued to chat throughout the entire lunch period and only stopped when the bell indicating that lunch had ended rang.

"Sorry, uhhh..." Ayako started before she realized that throughout the entire conversation, she hadn't even gotten his name.

"Naruto," Naruto provided, "Uzumaki Emiya Naruto."

Ayako nodded and committed the name to memory, "Sorry, Uzumaki-kun, but I'm in class in class A so I gotta go." She turned around and waved behind her, "I'll talk to you later!"

Once she had exited the classroom, she let her cheerful smile drop into a solemn frown.

His eyes.

Even though he was straight up talking to her, his eyes never even once _acknowledged_ her. His gaze was focused on her, but, somehow, she could tell that those cerulean irises were looking at something completely different the entire time.

She glanced behind her and took in the sight of Naruto leaning on his hand again, staring at something that only he could see.

Was that all that this world was to him? A minor annoyance not even worth acknowledging?

She clenched her fists and strengthened her resolve.

She would make sure to bring him acknowledge the real world. She would make sure to have him acknowledge _her_!

That... was a promise.

* * *

"...And that's how our first meeting ended," Mitsuzuri finished.

Naruto remained silent.

Was that why Mitsuzuri had talked to him so much? because she was worried about him? Because she pitied him? If so, then why did her mother say that she was happy to see that he had visited? Why... why had she proclaimed her his friend?

"Was that why you kept trying to interact with me?" Naruto asked quietly, "Because you pitied me? Because it was a simple challenge that you had set for yourself?"

Mitsuzuri nodded slowly, "Yes."

Naruto closed his eyes as he tried to banish the sting from his heart.

"At first, at least," Mitsuzuri continued, "But, over time, the reason changed. The more I talked with you, the closer I got to you." She gave him a happy smile, "Eventually, you came to be one of my closest friends."

The sting in his heart vanished but guilt moved in and took its place, "How can you be friends with me when I haven't even let you through my first layer yet?"

Mitsuzuri's lips twitched upwards, "You didn't need to let me through your "first layer". You may not have noticed, but whenever we talked, your true self would almost always surface at least partially. It's not like you hide anything when you talk to someone, you just never acknowledge anyone. That's why, without you even noticing, your true self reflexively climbs its way to the surface. Normally, nobody would notice, but with how much time I've spent interacting with you, there's no way that I would miss that."

Naruto smiled slightly as the guilt ebbed away, "That so?"

Mitsuzuri nodded in manner more fitting the cheerful Mitsuzuri Ayako that he usually interacted with at school, "Yep."

Naruto sighed and reclined on the sofa as he silently reflected on Ayako's words.

"Your eyes look much brighter now," Ayako informed, "I'm glad that after five years, I've finally been able to see those eyes of yours acknowledge me and this world."

"..."

Naruto felt his lips tug upwards but managed to keep them under control as he brought himself up from the sofa. He looked Mitsuzuri in the eye and gave her a wide and grateful smile that seemed to light up the whole room,

"Thanks, Ayako, for trying so hard for me."

Mitsuzuri closed her eyes in satisfaction before she opened them and responded with a small smile of her own, "Don't worry, these are just normal things that friends do for each other... Naruto."

Naruto smirked amusedly,

"Somehow, I doubt that."

* * *

"Leaving so soon?" Eriko asked as Naruto put on his shoes, "I haven't even finished preparing the snacks yet."

Naruto grinned, "Yep. It's probably best that I head back home now. If I don't, then my... friend, who's taking care of me at the moment, will kill me."

Eriko felt puzzled by the blonde boy's situation but did not pry further, "Is that so? Well then, I suppose it can't be helped."

Naruto tucked his heel into his shoe and got up before he nodded, "Yeah, it really can't."

He bowed awkwardly, "Ah, um, thanks- I mean, thank you for having me over."

Eriko giggled at his clumsy attempt at formality, "Not a problem, dear. Be sure to stop by once a while; I'm sure that Ayako would appreciate the company."

Naruto nodded, "I'll try."

With that, Naruto turned around and walked out of the front door. Once he had exited through the front gate and had put a few meters of distance between him and the Mitsuzuri residence, he glanced back at the house and frowned.

It felt good. In fact, it felt great to finally start to acknowledge the world that he had been living in for the past ten years.

But... this newfound acknowledgment gave rise to another, much more distressing, feeling that put an invisible yet heavy pressure on his being and racked his very soul with indecision.

He clenched his fists.

He didn't know what this feeling indicated and why it had appeared in the first place, but if he had to simplify his thoughts and provide an analogy for it, then then the best way to put it would be:

He had acknowledged the fact that he was wounded and lost in the dark, but...

What now?

* * *

Matou Zouken almost never spent some alone time with his "grandson", Matou Shinji.

That was a fact and also the reason why this situation was extremely odd.

Zouken was sitting in his rocking chair in his small wooden tiled room, which was barely lit by candles, and was facing his "grandson" who was standing in front of the doorway.

Zouken discreetly licked his lips as he smirked. The quality and amount of the nervousness that his "grandson" was exuding was quite... exquisite.

"H-hey, Oji-san," Shinji stammered out, "What did you want?"

Zouken's smirked increased in size, "Shinji, I know that you have created an alliance with that Tohasaka brat and Emiya brat, but tell me, have you and your allies come up with an actual plan to defeat your opponents?:

Shinji smirked, his confidence returning at the chance to show off to his "grandfather", "Of course. The first plan that we came up with will easily allow us to take down Caster and Assassin."

Zouken raised a nonexistent eyebrow, "Oh? And what exactly is this plan of yours?" He asked, looking more amused than anything.

"Heh, the very first thing that we all have to do is meet up at Tohsaka's house," Shinji answered proudly before continuing, unaware that he had already lost his audience's focus, "Then..."

 _'That Tohsaka brat's house, eh?'_ Zouken thought to himself as he drowned out Shinji's voice and surveyed the state of the war within his mind, _'Saber is probably one of the most troublesome Servants in this war. Converting her to my side is most preferable.'_

He cackled loudly, interrupting Shinji's explanation and surprising him in the process.

 _'All the pieces have fallen into place and all the cards favor me. It's time to make may move.'_

The shadows darkened and he envisioned a chess piece, the black king, fall to the ground within his mind,

 _'You've done well up till now, Uzumaki Emiya Naruto, but unfortunately, this is where your luck runs out.'_

* * *

 _ **Author's Note - So, a chapter with not much action, but a necessary one nonetheless. Never underestimate character interactions!**_ _ **I still dislike the last half though. I kept trying to change it, but nothing gave me that "spark" that made me feel like, "Oh yeah! That fits in perfectly!". To be honest, my pace has been completely off. What will happen next chapter, I wanted to happen two chapters ago. It's really weird.**_

 _ **Anyway, sorry for being late, guys, I've been really distracted with a lot of stuff.**_ _ **Just to announce to everyone,**_

 _ **I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO INTENTION OF ABANDONING THIS STORY.**_

 _ **The chapters may be updated at a slower rate than they used to be, but there's no way that I'm going to drop this story**_ ** _. Trust me, I know how it feels when a story I like just gets suddenly abandoned._**

 ** _Moving on, I've tried to add a little more description to locations, but I feel like I'm missing that crucial "flow". It comes off a little too choppy and tedious for now, but I hope to improve and eradicate that problem once and for all!_**

 _ **P.S. I've noticed that the longer my chapters, the worse they tend to get. Starting from now on, the chapters are going to be short and sweet.**_

 _ **P.P.S. Yes, I am aware that there are many beings in the Nasuverse which can destroy an entire city, but I doubt that Saber has faced or seen the power of any of these beings firsthand. Remember, she hasn't even seen Gilgamesh's full power firsthand.**_

 _ **P.P.S. Saber questioning Naruto about all the mismatching age discrepancies will come next chapter so please don't ask a question about that right now.**_


	12. To Lose One's Self

**Disclaimer - I do not own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**

* * *

Saber watched as Naruto struggled to move against the black control rods shoved through his hands and body, pinning him to the ground courtesy of Pein. Now, considering the fact that Naruto had summoned her for the Holy Grail War he had clearly made it out of that ordeal with Pein alive, but still, as she watched Pein reach out to capture and extract Naruto, she automatically found herself hoping for someone to come and save him.

Her prayers were answered in the form of a lavender-haired girl.

"I won't let you lay another finger on Naruto-kun!" The lavender-haired girl (Hinata, Saber recognized) yelled as she tried to strike Pein with her unique brand of Taijutsu. The strike didn't manage to land, but it did manage to force Pein to retreat a few meters away from Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened as he struggled harder against the black rods pining him to the ground, "What're you doing here!?" He yelled, his voice racked with panic, "Get out of here! You're no match-"

"I know," Hinata's soft voice echoed, injected with some kind of mysterious emotion which snapped Naruto into silence, "I'm... just being selfish..."

Saber could see Naruto's confusion, frustration and worry peak, "What're you talking about!? What're you doing here!? it's dangerous!"

Hinata activated her byakugan and glared at Pein, her resolve burning in her eyes so intensely that even though Saber knew that this was only a memory, she still felt her body tense in anticipation of a particularly fierce attack.

"...I'm here of my own free will," Hinata said softly.

Confusion flashed through Naruto's eyes, but he couldn't seem to open his mouth and actually ask what she meant. To be honest, Saber felt the same way.

"...I used to always cry and give up..." Hinata continued, her eyes gazing at something only she could see, "I nearly went the wrong way... But you... you showed me the right way..."

"..."

I was always chasing you... wanting to overtake you... I just wanted to walk with you..." Hinata paused for a second before she spoke again, "I wanted to be with you... You changed me! Your smile saved me! So I'm not afraid to die protecting you!"

Pein brought down the full force of his glare upon Hinata, but Hinata only smiled,

"Because I... love you..."

And then, she _charged._

* * *

When Naruto finally made it back home - late again, she might add - Saber noticed that he had a different look in his eyes and a different gait than when he had left that morning. She would've called him out on it, but she had plenty to ponder about herself and wasn't really in the mood to pry.

"Ready?" Naruto asked. He'd already changed out of his uniform and into his orange hoodie and jeans.

Saber gave him a look, "Naruto, I am always prepared. _You_ were the one who had to freshen up and change."

Naruto grinned as he put on his shoes, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. If we're all done here then let's get going. Rin's gonna be crazy angry if we arrive late."

"I will be sure to tell her exactly _why_ we were late," Saber intoned, shooting Naruto an annoyed glare.

Naruto gave a nervous chuckle in response as the duo exited the house, making sure to lock the door behind them.

* * *

The Mion river glittered under the cloudless sky as Naruto and Saber walked alongside it. Of course there were railings to prevent people from falling in, and there was a slight elevated distance between the actual river and the path that people were allowed to walk on, but Naruto and Saber were walking close enough to the river to render the description "alongside" apt.

"Can I ask you something, Naruto?" Saber asked hesitantly, breaking the comfortable silence that they had settled into up to this point.

Naruto nodded, "Sure, go ahead."

"Why are you here?

Naruto raised his eyebrows, "What do you mean?

"I already know that you're from an entirely different dimension, but I don't understand why you're _here_ exactly."

Naruto nodded again, "Ah, you probably saw my past in your dreams, right?"

Saber silently nodded.

"Yeah, that weird priest told me that this "dreaming of the other person's past" thing would work both ways."

"So?" Saber pressed, "Why did you come to this dimension?"

Naruto chuckled wryly, "It was honestly a mistake. I wanted to explore new dimensions, but a weird sigil interfered with the technique that I was using and deposited me to this hostile dimension where my powers remain completely suppressed."

Saber frowned and tried to ignore the sting she felt inside her from Naruto basically telling her that he regretted his decision to come here. Instead, she latched on to another part of his explanation, "You have the ability to move through dimensions?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, not me. You know Sasuke, right?"

Saber nodded, "Yes, I saw him in your memories."

"Yeah well, it's actually Sasuke who has that ability. I was just the one he was using it on."

Saber nodded in understanding, "I see..." she still had another question to ask though, "However, there is still one thing I don't understand. You said that you were adopted by Kiritsugu when you were ten years-old, but considering your memories, you were still in your own home dimension at that age."

Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I guess it wouldn't make much sense to you if you didn't see everything. Well basically, when I arrived in this dimension the world itself tried to suppress me 'cause I was unnatural or something. I don't know much about what happened, but the world didn't completely succeed _or_ fail. It managed to suppress my powers and de-age me back to a ten year-old, but it failed to actually make me disappear entirely."

"I see..." Saber said before giving him a small smile, "You live an incredibly exciting life don't you, Naruto?"

Naruto smirked, "I guess-"

Suddenly, Saber's eyes barely caught the rapidly expanding shadow on the ground that indicated that at least _something_ was descending upon them before she grabbed Naruto and leaped forward to dodge.

A small explosion of grey dust rocked the ground behind her as she landed, and in an instant, Saber spun to face their attacker.

There, in front of her stood a bald and wrinkly old man with obvious cruelty visible in his sulphuric eyes. The old man was garbed in traditional Japanese brown and green dressing, and was leaning on a wooden cane. To be honest, he actually looked quite frail.

Was this old man another Master?

"Zouken!" Naruto exclaimed from beside her, "Why the hell are you here, you wrinkly old fart!?"

The man identified as Zouken cackled in such a way, that even though he looked so frail, Saber couldn't help but shiver a bit.

"Kakakaka! How disrespectful, boy! It's been some time since I've been the target of such disrespect!"

Saber could hear Naruto loudly gritting his teeth before he spoke, "Just answer the question, damnit!"

Zouken smirked and the shadows instantly seemed a little darker than they had a second ago, "Oh, I just came here in search for a new Servant," he said as if he were simply discussing the weather, "You wouldn't happen to have one, would you?"

"I knew you were creepy the instant I met you," Naruto growled, "But I seriously didn't expect you to be a part of this stupid ritual."

Zouden's smirk widened as he gave her a predatory look, as if he were eyeing a particularly delicious morsel, "I'm not. By tomorrow, however, I will be."

Saber instantly picked up on his intentions and primed her invisible weapon, "And how exactly do you intend to do that?" She asked as she warily watched his every little action. Who knew what kind of tricks this old man was hiding?

Zouken simply upheld his smirk, and then, suddenly, the air froze as hate, anger and all sorts of negative emotions pervaded the air. The world darkened around her and it almost seemed as if the world itself had distorted.

"Wh-what?" She hoarsely whispered.

Zouken's smirk only widened, "Behind you," he said, his voice barely audible to her ears.

Normally, Saber would never take her eyes off her enemies; to do so would simply be foolhardy. These, however, were not normal conditions, and so she almost automatically turned around to face whatever was exuding such an extreme presence.

It was a strange, unidentifiable... _thing_. The thing had the height of a normal human, but it looked almost unsubstantial, as if the it were shadow that had simply decided to stand up. It's shaped resembled that of jellyfish's or some sort of sea monster, but Saber could not identify this... _shadow's_ true species even with the vast knowledge that the Holy Grail provided her with.

"Wh-what is that?" Naruto whispered from beside her.

She did not know how to answer his question, but apparently Zouken already had one prepared,

"Your doom."

And then, as if those words were a command or switch or something, the Shadow suddenly shot forward and whipped one of its tentacles at her. Saber instinctively dodged before her mind could comprehend the situation, and retreated a ways away from the Shadow and Zouken. She didn't know why, but her instincts were screaming at her to avoid touching the Shadow at all costs.

"My, my, Saber... afraid?" Zouken taunted.

Saber could do nothing but grit her teeth.

* * *

 _ **"It feels familiar..."**_ Kurama said.

 _'What does?'_ Naruto asked as he leapt away from both Zouken and the Shadow and landed beside Saber.

 _ **"That feeling that Shadow thing is giving off is something I've felt before..."**_ Kurama explained.

 _'We'll figure out why later,'_ Naruto said, _'Right now we have figure a way out to deal with this thing. I feel like it isn't going to be anything simple as stabbing it with a kunai...'_

 ** _"Obviously."_**

Naruto surfaced from his mental conversation and briefly glanced at his surroundings.

"All the people are gone," he noted as he turned to Zouken, "Neither Saber nor I felt anything when we entered this area, which means that you chased all the people off beforehand. How did you know we were going to pass through here?"

"Brilliant deduction," Zouken praised, "I must admit though, I'm surprised that you two didn't notice the unusual lack of people while you were walking."

Naruto didn't know about Saber, but he had been to busy with thinking about the events of this evening to actually notice anything unusual. A foolish mistake in hindsight.

"I had some stuff on my mind."

Zouken cackled, "Kakaka! I see. Now, to answer your question, I already knew that you two were headed for the Tohsaka manor so I emptied out a spot on the way from the Emiya house to the Tohsaka manor in order to prepare our battleground in advance."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, "Oh?"

"Of course, if you two had simply taken to the rooftops, then I would've had to attack you in midair- which would have been extremely inconvenient. I'm grateful that you decided to walk."

"And how did you get to know that we were heading to the Tohsaka manor in the first place?" Naruto asked, his tone taking on a dangerous lilt.

Zouken cackled again, "Kakakaka! Shinji, of course! You neutralizing him gave _me_ something incredible in return! An unknowing spy!"

Naruto scowled. This was bad. Zouken would not have attacked if he wasn't sure of his victory. This entire battle had been initiated by a fully informed Zouken which put them at an extreme disadvantage.

Naruto took a quick glance at Saber. She had regained her bearings, and was already looking calm and confident. However, she was unable to hide her unwillingness to face the Shadow. She was edging away from it and was watching it like a hawk, but she did not seem hesitant due to fear - No, it seemed more as if she was wary of that thing due to her gut instincts, like a person is not afraid of an extremely hot pan, but is unwilling to touch it.

The plan was obvious then.

"You take Zouken, I'll take the Shadow," he commanded.

"What!?" Saber hissed, "No! I cannot leave you to fight against that-"

"You have to!" Naruto interrupted, "Zouken knew there were _two_ of us, but he still joined in this battle. This means that he at least has something else up his sleeve!"

"That Shadow is not any different!" Saber argued hotly, "The abilities of the Shadow and Zouken are both unknown!"

"Yeah, but Zouken's probably controlling the Shadow," Naruto pointed out, "Take down Zouken, and you take down that Shadow thing. Zouken has the higher priority here, and you're stronger than me right now."

Saber glared at him out of the corner of her eye before she sighed and conceded, "Very well. Please be careful."

"Aren't I always?"

"Are you two done?" Zouken asked, a chilling sneer on his face.

Naruto grinned, "Yep! You better prepare for the largest beatdown of our life!"

* * *

Saber shot towards Zouken like a bullet and raised her blade high, ready to neatly cut him in half when, suddenly, Zouken put up a hand and calmly rasped,

"Wait. I only wish to speak with you."

Saber felt the urge to ignore his words and bring down her sword, but she suppressed that urge. No matter how much this old man creeped her out, she was still a knight, and cutting through a person proposing dialogue over combat as a solution to their conflict went against her code and honor.

"You have ten seconds. Talk," she bit out, bringing the tip of her invisible blade to his neck. She had not forgotten the fact that it had been Zouken who had initiated this conflict in the first place.

Zouken smirked, showing absolutely no fear or nervousness, "Very well, I'll keep this short then: You can't win."

Saber narrowed her eyes, "Can't win? I believe you are forgetting the fact that you are at my mercy, fiend," She made a small cut on Zouken's neck to emphasize her point.

Zouken didn't even flinch, "Yes, you can cut me down, but even if you do, there is simply no way for you to defeat my... Shadow, as your Master called it."

"Useless posturing."

Zouken's smirk widened, "Don't be so quick to judge, Saber. As I'm sure you've already sensed, Servants are the natural prey for my Shadow, but what you don't know is that all mana-less physical objects are useless against it."

Saber grit her teeth, "You mean..."

"Yes... now you see don't you? on matter how resourceful or skilled your Master is, he simply _cannot_ defeat my Shadow."

Saber's hand trembled with a strange combination of rage and nervousness, "And why should I believe you?"

Zouken let loose a harsh chuckle, "Don't be a fool, Saber. You _know_ I'm telling the truth- your instincts and intuition are too sharp for me to fool you."

He wasn't wrong. Saber couldn't sense lies, but she _could_ tell that Zouken was completely confident at the moment, even with a blade pointed at his neck. It was very likely that what he was saying was true.

"I will simply kill you then," Saber said, "With you dead, that Shadow will no doubt disappear too."

"Once again, you are mistaken; Killing me will not disperse my Shadow, it will only release my control over it. Can you guess what will happen if I lose control over my Shadow?"

Saber glared at him, silently waiting for his answer.

"My Shadow craves mana, and if I lose control over it, then it will go on an indiscriminate rampage in search of mana," Saber's eyes widened as Zouken's ugly smirk turned even more sinister, "innocent people, mages, Servants, Masters... no matter what they are, my Shadow won't hesitate to consume them."

Saber took a deep breath to calm her tumultuous stomach before leveling a cool glare at Zouken, "Oh? And you think I will simply take your words at face value? At the very least, Naruto is resourceful, if anyone can defeat that abomination, then it is my Master."

Zouken looked unfazed _,_ "Well, I cannot prove my Shadow's desires in a way that wouldn't anger you, but why don't we watch the battle behind you? Let's see how effective your magic-less Master proves against my Shadow."

Saber took a moment to mull the idea over in her head before she walked over to Zouken's back - sword still pointed at his throat - and faced the direction she had just come from. From this position both Zouken and Saber could see the battle between Naruto and the Shadow.

"Don't you dare move," Saber commanded.

Zouken let out another raspy chuckle, "Don't worry, Saber, I have no intention of doing so."

Somehow, that didn't reassure her one bit.

* * *

Naruto's eyes roved over the Shadow as he tried to find some sort of weak point to target.

He was decidedly unsuccessful. He gave a mental shrug as he brought out multiple kunai and shuriken; he'd never figure out this thing's powers if he just sat there and stared at it.

"Well, nothing to it!" He said with a grin as he let the kunai and shuriken fly. The projectiles made contact with the Shadow, and for just a moment Naruto thought that defeating this thing _had_ actually been as simple as stabbing it with a kunai, before the notion was erased from his mind when the kunai and shuriken simply passed through the Shadow like it was simply a hologram or something.

The grin dropped off his face, _'_ _K_ _amui!?'_

The similarities between this Shadow's power to slip through objects and Obito's power to slip through objects was uncanny. This was disturbing; he didn't have enough weapons to make use of the five minute time limit weakness that Obito had, and the other method - the one his dad had used against Obito - was simply too risky. Saber may have been more deeply affected by that Shadow's presence, but that didn't mean that he had any doubt that something bad would happen if he let that thing touch him.

Worse yet, he wasn't even sure if this Shadow had the same weaknesses as Obito. How would he even go about figuring this thing's-

A rapidly approaching tentacle snapped him out of his musings and forced him dodge backwards. The Shadow persisted and surrounded the blonde boy with three more tentacles, which proceeded to shoot towards him like a bullet. Naruto barely managed to jump above the tentacles and threw his remaining kunai with all his might at the nearest tentacle-free area and pulled on the thin wire-string he had tied to it. This way he pulled himself away from the four tentacles shooting towards him from underneath and landed on strictly pavement.

Naruto frowned and watched the four tentacles retract back into the Shadow. Maybe if he could get a read on the emotions that the Shadow was feeling, then he could come up with some sort of plan. Unfortunately, the Shadow didn't even have a face, thereby making the task of reading its emotions a lot harder than he wanted it to be.

 _'You got anything, Kurama?'_

 _ **'No,'**_ Kurama's eyes narrowed as he spoke, **_'This thing... it's filled with so many negative emotions that I can't even get a solid read on it. It's all a jumbled mess.'_**

Apparently, the Shadow had had enough by this point, because the power it was exuding rapidly skyrocketed. Countless shadowy tentacles sprouted from its body and gathered behind it like a giant black cloud.

There was no indication or signal. One moment, the Shadow simply hovered there, the next, all of its tentacles shot forwards like countless black laser beams.

 _ **'DODGE!'**_

Naruto let out a strained grin, _'You don't need to yell, you bastard!'_

With that, he charged straight at the barrage. Right when the tentacles were about to pierce through him, he leaped and corkscrewed between the extremely narrow gaps of attack.

He didn't stop once he landed. The black tentacles kept coming from the Shadow, wave after wave, and it took every single muscle in his body to avoid touching any of them. He ducked, weaved, rolled, and leaped through the countless number of tentacles.

A thought occurred to him, _'I_ _can see them...'_

He had no doubt that his Elemental Nations self's eyes would have had no trouble keeping up with this barrage, but his Earth self... a few days ago, his eyes would have easily lost the countless tentacles. But now...

Naruto's eyes blazed as he pirouetted around another tentacle.

 _There!_

In one clean swipe, he let loose his final remaining kunai- which whizzed through the air without hitting a single tentacle, and pierced through the Shadow.

Rolling underneath under another incoming tentacle, Naruto looked up hopefully, only to see the barrage still continuing. The kunai had done absolutely nothing- the Shadow didn't even look fazed.

His eyes widened as his insides churned nervously, _'Does... does thing have no weaknesses? Even Obito's weakness didn't work on it!'_

He tried to advance, but a sudden flash of black right in front of his face forced him to drop backwards towards the ground. Using his legs as a spring, he leaped even further back, all the while twisting and weaving through the barrage. Without any weapons, there was no way to attack this thing. Not that the weapons had actually managed to _do_ anything.

He had to think of a new plan.

* * *

"He's growing tired..." Zouken smirked as he watched the blond Master dance around the Shadow's unstopping barrage, "Make your choice, Saber."

Saber's hand trembled as her mind raced. What should she do? Naruto had no chance against that Shadow, and her instincts - which she trusted above all else - were already screaming at her to not fight with it. Should she take his offer to surrender?

No, that would be too hasty.

Saber hand stop trembling as her sword inched closer to Zouken's neck. Perhaps... killing him would be the best option?

 _"My Shadow craves mana, and if I lose control over it, then it will go on an indiscriminate rampage in search of mana."_

Those were the words he had said back then, and her intuition and instincts hadn't detected a single lie. Perhaps he was just an extremely skilled liar who could fool even _her_ instincts and intuition, but nevertheless, she couldn't take the risk.

Like she said, her instincts were one of the only things she she trusted above all else after all.

In that case, the best option would be to retreat.

Naruto would be so pissed.

* * *

Naruto panted, and sweat ran down his face as he continued to create space between him and the Shadow, all the while dodging its relentless barrage.

He was running out of energy, an experience he hadn't been through in a _long_ time. He could only keep this up for five minutes tops, and unfortunately, he still hadn't come up with a viable plan.

 _ **'Duck!'**_

Naruto didn't even hesitate. he dropped to the ground at the command and watched a black tentacle fly past from above him - through the spot where he had just been standing - and let out a sigh of relief.

"Damn..." He muttered in between pants, "I'm all outta-"

"Naruto!" Saber's voice called out from above him right before a blast of wind cleared out a small part of the tentacle barrage in front of him. Another wave of black tentacles were already in the process of filling that hole in the barrage, but Saber was a split-second faster. She landed right in front of Naruto, scooped him up and leaped away just before the tentacles hit her.

Flying through the air in Saber's arms princess-style, Naruto finally managed to feel the true extent of his exhaustion as the wintry wind cooled away his adrenaline. His heart was desperately pounding in his chest and he was rapidly breathing, trying to shove as much air into his lungs as fast as possible.

"Hang on, Naruto!" Saber yelled as she swerved around... a black tentacle? What the hell? The Shadow was still chasing them?

Saber grunted as she landed and almost lost her balance before she shot off away from the rapidly approaching Shadow.

The Shadow fired four more tentacles, and Saber managed to barely dodge three of them before the last one struck the ground in front of her, throwing her off her feet and causing her to accidentally let go of Naruto.

Naruto skidded across the ground due to inertia and-

BANG!

He only came to a stop when he slammed loudly against the railway separating the walking area from the Mion river. The metal railway bent behind him from the force of the impact.

He groaned in pain as a painful buzz muffled his ears, and tried to bring himself up, but the blinding pain in his back and his exhaustion made him too dizzy and confused to even muster up the strength to do that.

Tok, Tok, Tok... the sound of a wooden cane softly tapping against the ground slowly got louder and louder until finally it stopped a ways away from him.

That creepy old man was saying something. He didn't know what, but that raspy voice was definitely Zouken's.

Mustering up every ounce of his strength, Naruto blindly reached out with his hand towards where he'd heard Zouken's voice come from, and forced an almost inaudible rasp out of his empty lungs, "Zou... ken..."

* * *

"I'm impressed," Zouken said as he watched the blonde Master try to valiantly reach him, "Most people would have been knocked unconscious from a crash like that."

Saber remained silent, waiting for either Zouken or the Shadow to make a move.

"Saber, cease you fruitless struggling," Zouken continued, looking more amused than anything, "There is simply no way for you to escape. Not with your Master dragging you down, at least."

Saber's head and eyes eyes subtly but rapidly tilted from here to there in an effort to search for- something, _anything_ to get her and Naruto out of this desperate mess.

"What is it that you want, scum?" She growled, her brain flying through a thousand different strategies all at once - each increasingly more improbable to work than the last, "Why do you continue to taunt me so?"

Zouken let loose a sinister cackle, "Hahaha! What do I want!? Haven't I already told you, Saber? I. Want. You."

Saber's eyes narrowed, " _Never_."

A vile, unsettling smirk settled on Zouken's face, "Oh? Not even to save your Master?" Saber's eyebrows furrowed as Zouken continued, "If you give yourself up to me, then I will let that idiotic brat go free. But... if you don't, then I will surely kill him- and not peacefully either. He will suffer for eternity within my Shadow, wishing for the merciful release of death."

"And what stops you from doing so without bartering with me?"

Zouken's face didn't even twitch as he languidly pointed his cane at her, "You. If you suddenly to decide to escape alone or let loose a suicide attack, then my plans would be incredibly inconvenienced. Not that it's likely, but I do not wish to take that chance, King of Knights."

Saber's eyes widened, "H-how? How did you figure out my true name!?"

Zouken's smirk widened, "Why do you think I even set up events in this way. It is because I know your identity, and thus, your nature," suddenly his face split open into a twisted, sadistic grin, "Now choose: your life for your Master's, or your Master's life for yours?"

Saber's grip on her sword tightened "So... to save Naruto's life, I must become your Servant?"

Zouden's sadistic grin widened even more, if possible, "Yes... you will bathe in my Shadow's mana and lose yourself to its darkness! Come, King of Knights! Become mine!"

Saber suddenly felt as if a terrible cold had washed over her. Her joints locked into place, refusing to move, and her entire body shivered minutely. She knew this feeling...

 _Fear_...

The thought of agreeing to even _slightly_ touching that Shadow froze her to her spot and sent her heart racing in fear. She didn't know _why_ she felt afraid of this thing - it's not like she had ever encountered a being like this before - but her instincts continued to deafen her with a single message:

 _RUN AWAY!_

"I..."

The choice was obvious. There was simply no other path for her; She would never be able to forgive herself if she traded in Naruto's life for her own. But still... even though she already knew what her choice would be, her body still would not move, her voice would not call.

She turned her head to look at Naruto,

"I..."

His battered and broken form reminded her of something... something she had seen not so long ago... a memory.

And then, she was no longer looking at just Naruto. Now, a young, lavender-haired girl stood protectively over him, ready to face a man with the powers of a god.

All because...

 _"Because I... love you..."_

Suddenly, the tension eased away from Saber's body and her heart lit alight with an indescribable warmth. Courage burst from deep inside her like geyser as she let loose a loud exhale.

A sixteen year-old had done what she couldn't, all in the name of something as fickle and stupid as _love_. Saber had promised to protect Naruto no matter what, hadn't she? She'd promised Naruto her _loyalty_ , hadn't she?

So why hesitate now?

After all... sacrificing Naruto was never really an option to her in the first place.

* * *

The voices were becoming clearer and the blurriness in his vision was rapidly fading. His vision and hearing still hadn't reached the point where he could coherently understand what was going on, but he was pretty sure that he only needed a few more minutes for everything to start working right again.

Naruto groaned as he put his trembling hands on the bent railing and tried to push himself up, despite his protesting legs and hands. And, for a brief moment, he actually managed to stand for a bit, but in a flash, his hands and legs both gave up at the same time, leading him to collapse onto the ground like puppet with its strings cut.

 _Damn it..._

He grit his teeth and put his hands in the railing once more, but before he could try to push himself up again, his hearing returned to him (though, there was still a faint, high-pitched whine in the background) and he heard something curious.

"Very well," Saber's voice rang out, "I agree to your terms."

 _Wha-_

Before Naruto could even start to comprehend those words, his eyes caught a flash of blue and silver rapidly approaching his stomach, and instinctively blocked the blow with both his hands.

But the blow was too heavy.

"GAH!"

He cried out in pain as his hands dug into his stomach and he was sent flying back, _through_ the railway behind him, and straight into the Mion river He couldn't feel his hands anymore, and the pain in stomach was so terrible that his mind was automatically shutting down on him to escape the agony.

Sinking into the river and fighting for his rapidly escaping consciousness, Naruto could only think of one thing before his mind slipped into the unfeeling abyss.

 _Those emerald eyes... Saber?_

* * *

Zouken couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the spectacle before him. Saber had, immediately after agreeing to his terms, rushed towards Naruto and kicked him into the river.

"I'm impressed, Saber... Although, I do wonder what caused you to do that?"

"You were the one who said it; My instincts are too sharp for you to fool. Had I trusted your word and given myself up, you would have simply killed Naruto."

Zouken let loose an amused chuckled, "Perhaps..."

"Meanwhile, I find myself wondering why _you_ did not attack _me_ while I sent Naruto into the river."

"It is because I know your true identity. I know that you, the King of Knights, would never go back on your word."

"Oh?"

"Yes, and that is not all," Zouken said, "I was there during the fourth Holy Grail war ten years ago; I already know how honor-bound you are."

"I do not remember you being one of the Masters..."

Zouken let an amused smirk play on his lips, "Who said I was?"

Saber furrowed her brow, "Then... how?

"My grandson was Lancelot's Master, I felt it my duty to at least observe."

"Lancelot? How-"

Zouken raised a hand to stop her, "Enough. Your precious Master has already drifted far beyond our sight. You can stop stalling me with conversation now."

Saber's eyes widened, "You knew?"

Zouken cackled loudly, "Kakaka! Of course! You are a lot more subtle than I had imagined, Saber, but my skills in subtlety surpass yours."

Saber grit her teeth.

"Don't worry so much, Saber, I won't hunt down your Master. After all, he is useless without his Servant," Zouken's eyes lit up with malice, "Now, let my Shadow envelop you; It is time... for you to _fall_!"

Saber clenched her fists, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. She mustered up all of her willpower to beat back the call of her instincts, and opened her eyes. With one last look towards the direction where Naruto had drifted, Saber took her first step towards her new Master.

* * *

A familiar white ceiling, a cloth blanket, a standard mattress, the smell of antiseptics, and the light fixture radiating light right above him.

He felt numb. And cold. His memories eluded him, and the only thing he could focus his mind on was his surroundings.

"Wha...?"

He moved to sit up, when a sharp, unbearable pain erupted from his stomach.

"Ugh!"

"Naruto-kun!" A female voice from beside him called out concernedly.

He winced as his name triggered the return of his memories, which rushed back like a waterfall and gave him a vicious headache in the process.

A pair of a feminine hands gently eased him back into a resting position again.

Naruto waited stilly for a few moments until the pain in his stomach and head both ebbed away. He turned his head to the side to take a look at who had helped him just now.

It was a familiar looking, brown-haired woman in a doctor's coat. It took him a few seconds to recognize her.

"...Dr. Mayers?"

The woman smiled, "The one and only," she gestured her head at his stomach, "It's been some time since I've seen you in this hospital... when was the last time again?"

Naruto ran a hand through his hair and gave her a wry grin, "At least a few years, 'cause of that stove that randomly blew up in front of my face."

Dr. Mayers raised an eyebrow, "Randomly? I seem to recall that that was _your_ stove and that you were the one cooking when it blew up."

Naruto shot her a glare, "I followed the directions on that instruction manual perfectly, that stove shouldn't have blown up at all. It was no doubt the stove's fault."

Dr. Mayers gave him an unconvinced nod, "Uh-huh. And I would believe you too if you and Kiritsugu weren't always ending up in my hospital for getting sick by eating food that _you both_ cooked, or receiving burns from exploding kitchen appliances."

"A stove isn't a kitchen appliance... is it?"

"That doesn't matter now, what matters is _that_ -" she pointed at his stomach, "-How on earth did you get that?"

Naruto stayed silent as Saber's emerald eyes flashed in his mind.

"...Naruto-kun?" Dr. Mayers called out worriedly.

Naruto gave her a strained grin, "Don't worry about it, it was just an accident. More importantly, how was I found?"

Dr. Mayers seemed to have picked up that something was wrong but didn't press him, "Well, from what I understand, a few people found you floating down the Mion river and pulled you out. They thought that you were dead at first, but when they saw that you were alive but injured, they brought you here."

"I see... can you tell them "thanks" for me?"

Dr. Mayers smiled kindly, "They've already left, but if I see them again, then I will be sure to."

Naruto nodded, but otherwise kept silent. He wasn't in the mood to talk.

"Get some rest," Dr. Mayers said after a while, "Your stomach and hands were both severely damaged. They were healing at an unnaturally fast rate until an hour ago, but its slowed down since then. Rest is exactly what you need for your wounds to finish healing completely."

Naruto gave her another unenthusiastic nod and closed his eyes.

A few moments later, he found himself back inside a familiar sewer where a giant nine-tailed fox stared down at him.

 **"** **Naru-"**

"Was it Saber?" Naruto asked, his voice a deathly whisper.

 **"...Yes. I don't know why, but-"**

"That's enough, Kurama," Naruto said, his eyes hollow, "We tried our best, but we failed. It's over."

Kurama's eyes widened before he snarled viciously, **"Failed!? You brat! Are you going to give up now!? Are you just going to go back to school pretending that none of this ever happened!? Aren't you going to save Saber!?"**

Naruto uncaringly met Kurama's eyes, "It was Saber who did us in, Kurama. What would I go save her from?"

 **"What the hell is wrong with you!? In all the time that you've known Saber, has she ever show the desire to betray you? It's obvious that something must have forced her to do that!"**

Naruto sighed, and turned away from Kurama. Why couldn't Kurama understand?

It. Was. Over.

It felt as if that familiar cocoon of despair which had recently started to unravel had tightly closed around his heart again. There was no point in chasing after and saving someone who had betrayed him.

 **"Don't get me wrong, I don't give a crap about Saber. But you... The Naruto that I knew would be the first one to-"** **  
**

"I said, _enough_ , Kurama," Naruto interrupted, his voice softer yet heavier than anything in the world,

"Let me rest, I'm just so- _tired_."

* * *

A few hours later, when he came to, the sky was still dark outside. Like always, he found his thoughts drifting back home.

Ah, Konoha... how dearly he missed it.

Once he got back, the first thing he would do is take a few laps around the village to just savor the sight. Then he would go to Kakashi and demand that the Hokage's position be handed to him.

No, wait, first he would get about a hundred bowls of old man Ichiraku's ramen, then he would take a few laps around the village, and _then_ he would go to Kakashi for the Hokage position.

Ah, he could almost feel that awesome hat perched atop his head, and-

"NARU-CHAN!"

Fuji-nee came barging into his room with a panicked expression on her face, and in an instant, was by his bed.

"Naru-chan, what happened!? How did you end up here!? Dr. Mayer's told me that people found you inside the Mion river! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?"

She was barely an inch way from grabbing him by his hospital gown and wildly shaking by now.

Heh, Sakura (Haruno, not Matou) used to kinda act like that, didn't she? She was a lot more violent with her worry though.

Naruto gave Fuji-nee a lopsided grin, "Don't worry, Fuji-nee, I'm alright now. Dr. Mayers says that I'm almost completely healed. All I need is a little more bedrest."

His words seemed to calm Fuji-nee down somewhat, "Right... yeah, you don't look too bad. But... but what happened? How'd you end up in that river?"

Naruto felt a sigh bubbling in his throat, but pushed it down and simply shrugged, "Eh, it was just an accident, pretty embarrassing too, so I'd rather not explain."

He had no desire to explain, nor did he have any desire to continue this conversation.

"I-is that so?" Fuji-nee's shoulder slumped before she dropped her head into her hands, "Do you have any idea how worried I was? I thought you'd been attacked and dumped into the river to get rid of the evidence or something."

Naruto chuckled, "Nothing like that, I'm afraid."

* * *

Fujimura fell silent. Something was wrong. The way Naruto was acting... it was familiar, but not something she had seen recently.

Naruto was silently waiting for her to respond, but...

He wasn't.

And suddenly her eyes widened in realization. When Kiritsugu had first adopted Naruto, this was exactly the way he'd acted. He held a conversation normally, but when it came down to it, nothing ever seemed to make him actually care.

If she decided to walk away right now without saying anything, then Naruto would simply turn away and never mention it again.

"Naru-chan..."

She had never wanted to see those vibrant cerulean eyes so uncaring ever again.

* * *

The next day, when Naruto returned home after being released from the hospital, the first thing Fujimura did is insist he go to school.

"But, Fuji-nee! I spent the entire night in the hospital!" Naruto said.

Fujimura raised an eyebrow, "So? It's not like you did anything other than sleep. Plus, you're already all healed up."

"It still hurts a bit," Naruto muttered.

"There are plenty of students with broken arms or legs who still go to school," Fujimura said, "Don't be a baby."

"...Fine," Naruto relented tiredly.

Fujimura clenched her fists with worry. This was not normal Naruto behavior. Naruto would have stubbornly argued a lot more and would probably have pulled some kind of trick to force things to go his way if she didn't agree.

"Good, now go take a shower and brush your teeth. I got two bentos ready for breakfast since Sakura was busy last night," she forced out of her mouth, even though she desperately wanted to scream and ask him _'WHAT'S WRONG, WHY ARE YOU ACTING THIS WAY!? WHAT HAPPENED!?'_.

Naruto nodded silently and walked away.

Fujimura rubbed her head and sighed. What should she do?

...And where on earth was Saber?

* * *

Once lunch time arrived, the first thing Rin did was stalk over to Naruto's classroom, and punch him straight in the gut while he was still in the middle of talking with Issei.

"You bastard! Where the hell were you last night!?" She yelled angrily.

The crowd around her froze, Issei along with them.

"Do you know how long I waited for you? How could you ruin our plans like that!?"

Shocked whispers broke out around them.

"H-Hey, what's she talking about?"

"You don't... you don't think that she could be...?"

"N-no way, there's no way!"

"Yeah, I mean Emiya's friendly and all, but Tohsaka..."

"But what if... what if they _are_...? I mean, she's blushing..."

Rin felt the heat rush to her face, and wisely decided to continue this somewhere else.

"Come on!" She said as she dragged Naruto to the chilly rooftop.

She roughly threw him to the ground and assaulted him with her fiercest glare.

"Explain," she growled.

Naruto winced as he brought himself back to his feet and ran a hand through his hair,

"Ah, yeah, about that. A lot of stuff happened, and, well, I ended up losing Saber."

Rin's eyes widened, "...WHAT!?"

"Yeah, Shinji's grandfather ambushed me while I was coming to you guys, we fought a little and then Saber ended up betraying me," Naruto said wearily.

Rin's jaw hit the floor, "E-eh? What do you mean she betraying you!? This is still Saber we're talking about right? And you said 'fought a little'! How did a normal magus even stand a chance against Saber?"

This was too fast! Just yesterday they were about to confidently attack Caster and Assassin, and today it turns out that that Saber had already been lost! How was that even possible?

"That old man brought this weird black jellyfish-like thing with him," Naruto said, "From what I could see, Saber was crazy afraid of it."

Rin curiously raised an eyebrow; something Saber was visibly afraid of?

"Was it maybe something that Saber encountered when she was alive?" She asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Maybe, but I don't think so; Saber didn't really give me any info before she rushed off to face Zouken, and I didn't see that thing in her memories either- mind you, I also didn't really watch all of her memories, so maybe it appeared later on."

Rin rubbed her chin, as she let her mind review the information presented to her.

"A black jellyfish-esque creature that made even Saber visibly afraid, eh?" She wondered out loud.

"Or perhaps, she didn't give me any info because she was planning to betray me in the first place," Naruto said uncaringly.

"What?" Rin exclaimed, "No way, Saber would never-"

"Alright, that's enough" Naruto interrupted with a sigh, "Sorry, you can speculate all you want, but I still want to go eat my lunch so you'll have to speculate alone."

Shock took hold of Rin for a few seconds as Naruto walked past her towards the door, before anger came crashing in, "Don't you care?" She asked harshly, "Don't you care about Saber at all!?"

Naruto didn't stop walking, but still tipped his head a bit to look at her out of the corner of his cold, uncaring eye, "She's the one who betrayed me, y'know? Why should I care what happens to her?"

Rin tightly clenched her fists, "Saber would never willingly betray you; you know that!"

Naruto turned away and carelessly waved her goodbye, "Right, right. Anyway, see ya."

Rin's anger spiraled out of control. In one smooth move, she leapt at Naruto, threw him to the ground on his back by pulling the scruff of his shirt, put a foot on his chest to keep him from moving, charged up a bright red Gandr shot, and aimed it right at his face.

These damn eyes!

"Look at me- LOOK AT ME, DAMNIT!"

Naruto looked unfazed, "I am," he responded, almost as if he were bored.

Rin held her position and tried her best to catch even a small glimpse of the lively boy she had come to know underneath this uncaring, cold-eyed... imposter!

Nothing... nothing at all. It was as if that cheery boy had never existed at all.

She powered down her Gandr, and sighed sadly as she lifted her foot off him,

"No... No, you're not."

* * *

School had finally ended, and so, under the warm red glow of the sunset, crowds of students spilled out of Homurahara academy's entrance gate like water and scattered everywhere. It was here that Shinji was impatiently tapping his foot and waiting for Tohsaka to show up.

Last night had been annoying. At first he thought it would be great since Naruto was late, which meant that Tohsaka and Shinji would both be alone together.

The perfect time to seduce her.

Things hadn't gone as well as he'd expected though. Every advance he'd made had been rejected by Tohsaka, and even talking to him seemed to make her physically ill. Why couldn't she just be as submissive like her bitch of a sister!?

Ah, whatever. She'd fall to his charms someday.

The number of students exiting the school had decreased to a trickle now, and there was still no sight of Tohsaka when Naruto came walking out.

"Oi, Emiya," He called arrogantly, "you really messed up our plans for last night, didn't you?"

Naruto barely glanced at him, "Yeah, sorry."

Shinji felt his blood boil at being ignored, "And where the hell are you going? I'm not finished with you yet!"

Naruto stopped and turned to look at Shinji, "I really gotta get home before Fuji-nee, so can we hurry this up?"

Shinji's anger spiked even more at Naruto's uncaring tone.

"Where the hell were you last night?" He spat. Fortunately, no one else was around to see him lose his composure like this, "You always were an idiot, I wouldn't be surprised if you had simply forgotten that we had an attack planned at all!"

Naruto smirked, but there was barely any anger or challenge behind it, "Oh? Is that the best you can come up with? If you're so pissed, then why don't you talk with your fists? We'll see if you can take me."

Shinji opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of footsteps stopped them both in their tracks. They simultaneously turned to look at the source, and found that it belonged to one Tohsaka Rin. As soon as she spotted Naruto, her gait tensed and her face harshened.

Suddenly and uncharacteristically, Naruto hastily muttered some excuse that Shinji couldn't hear and jogged off.

"Oi, Tohsaka," Shinji called out as Tohsaka passed by him, seemingly having no intention of even acknowledging him at all, "Did you find out what happened to Emiya last night?"

Tohsaka stopped for a second before she pinned him with a fiery glare out of the corner of her eye, "That... bastard! he lost Saber, and now he's just... _moping_!"

Shinji's eyes widened, "He lost Saber?"

He tried to walk to Tohsaka's side, but she turned at the last moment,

"Shinji, with Naruto gone, our alliance is over-" Shinji's eyes widened once again at this, "-I'm not going to attack you right now since there're still a few students left in school, but the next time we meet..."

Shinji clenched his fists, "You can't do this! We're allies!" He snarled.

"Deal. With. It." Tohsaka sniffed.

With a final glare, she spun on her heel and stalked away.

* * *

Kurama roared in frustration as he tried to make his voice heard to Naruto. It wasn't like Naruto had put mental block between their connection or anything, but he had been steadfastly ignoring Kurama's yells the entire day.

 **"NARUTO** **! IF YOU DON'T STOP ACTING LIKE A DAMN MORON THEN I'LL..."** He paused uncertainly for a second, **"I'LL... LEAVE YOUR DAMN BODY!"**

It was empty threat and they both knew it. Even if Kurama was willing to leave Naruto's body (which was an unlikely event in the first place) that weird power that the world of this dimension had would just crush Kurama's chakra and soul both, ending his life.

 **"NARUTO, ANSWER ME, DAMNIT!"** Kurama tried again.

"He won't answer," A mysterious voice called out from the darkness of the sewer.

Kurama's head jerked as he peered at the direction of the voice, **"Who..."** the mysterious person revealed himself, and Kurama's eyes widened in recognition, **"You... I didn't think that things would ever get _this_ bad..."**

* * *

Naruto rubbed his head to stave off the headache caused by Kurama's yelling as he lethargically waited for his cup ramen to finish cooking. With only Naruto present, the house was silent, and the warm atmosphere which always seemed to envelop the house was conspicuously absent.

"Naru-chan," Fuji-nee called out from behind him, surprising him a bit. When had she entered the house?

Naruto raised an eyebrow and twisted his body a bit to look behind at Fuji-nee, "Ah, Fuji-nee. I didn't hear you come in. What's up?"

A frown briefly flashed over Fuji-nee's face before she smiled cheerfully, "Guess who came to visit with me?" She asked in a sing-song voice.

"Uhm... Sakura?" Naruto guessed.

"Yep!" She said with a clap of her hands.

Taking this as some sort of cue, Sakura with her trademark purple hair and purple eyes walked into living room.

"Hello, Senpai," She greeted with a shy wave before her eyes landed on the cooking cup ramen in front of him, "I see you're eating ramen again tonight."

Fuji-nee frowned and plopped down at the table, "That's no good, Naru-chan," she said in a chiding tone as she wagged her finger at him, "You have to have a balanced diet; you can't just eat ramen all the time."

Naruto muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, _"Watch me."_

Fuji-nee shot him a glare.

"It's been some time since I visited, so I suppose I should make up for it, no?" Sakura proposed brightly as she made her way to the kitchen and put on an apron with practiced ease.

Fuji-nee grinned in excitement, "Ah, Sakura-chan! I haven't tasted your cooking in so long! I can't wait!"

Fujimura and Sakura both waited for Naruto's inevitable attack on the young teacher's behavior.

But this time, none came. All they got was a disinterested "Hm."

"...B-by the way, Senpai," Sakura spoke up awkwardly as she turned on the stove and propped a pan on it, "I noticed that mark on your hand is gone..."

Naruto wasn't sure but there seemed to be a bit of relief in her tone.

"Yeah," he responded, "Turns out it was nothing permanent. It got erased off pretty easily."

Fuji-nee raised an eyebrow, "Mark?"

Naruto waved his hand carelessly, "Don't worry about it."

Fujimura narrowed her eyes, but decided not to dig.

"Anyway, Sakura-chan," She said, turning to the purple-haired girl, "What're you making tonight?"

Sakura put a finger on her chin, "Hmmmm, I was about to make something with eggs, but I just remembered that the only dishes that Senpai can make are cup ramen and fried eggs. I should probably make something more unique today."

"Oh!" Fuji-nee jumped, "How about crabs? I just received some from a friend today!"

"But won't it take time for you to go to your house and bring them?" Sakura asked.

Fuji-nee laughed, "Nah, I live really close by. Plus, I asked for the crabs to be delivered here, there's no way that I'm leaving something as expensive as crabs in my house with grandpa."

"Crabs..." Sakura mused, "well, its certainly an ingredient I haven't used in a long time, but I still hope my dish manages to satisfy!"

Fuji-nee laughed again, "Of course it will!"

* * *

After a delicious dinner (where Fuji-nee once again sang praises of Sakura's admittedly good cooking) Fuji-nee and Sakura headed home, after which, Naruto decided that he didn't really feel like cleaning up the dirty dishes and went straight to brushing his teeth and taking a shower.

After changing into his pajamas, he laid out the futon, climbed in, and turned off the lights. It was particularly dark out tonight, and once the lights were off, Naruto couldn't even see his hand in front of his face.

He wasn't really sleepy, but for some reason, he still dozed off within minutes of closing his eyes.

* * *

Suddenly, he opened his eyes only to find himself standing inside a familiar sewer- his mindscape. Only, Kurama was missing.

"Ha ha, very funny, Kurama," Naruto dryly called out, "I already told you: leave me alone."

"It wasn't Kurama who called you here," A voice said from behind him.

Naruto spun and found himself staring at- himself.

"Surprised?" His other self asked with a mischievous grin on his face.

"Wh-what?" Naruto stammered.

His other self lost his grin and hard look appeared on his face, "As you can already tell, I'm you. Or more specifically, I'm the feelings you've repressed."

"You mean like that time in the Falls of Truth?" Naruto asked confusedly, "How's that even possible?"

His other self shrugged, "I'm you, remember? If you don't know, then I don't know either. Maybe since we've already been to the Falls of Truth? Or maybe things have just gotten _really_ bad..."

"Gotten really bad? What do you mean by that?" Naruto asked as his heart nervously hammered in his chest.

His other self glared at him, "Like I said, I'm you, remember? You know exactly what I mean."

Then, with two confident strides, his other self crossed the distance between them and, with a powerful THWACK, sent him flying with a punch to the face.

Naruto skidded along the ground and came to stop before he looked up at his other self with an astonished look on his face.

"Wake the hell up, you damn bastard!" His other self yelled, "Get your goddamn act together already!"

Naruto face stung harshly as he tried to say something. But he couldn't, it seemed as though that punch from other self had knocked away his ability to speak.

"What the hell are you doing acting like an emo bastard!? When are you going to go save Saber!?"

And then, with those words flung at his face, his voice returned with vengeance, "Save her!? She betrayed us! Why-"

"That's an excuse and you know it!" His other self yelled, snapping his mouth shut, "You _know_ that Saber would never betray us! You've just given up because you're too afraid!"

Something inside Naruto snapped. In a flash, he was on his feet, a _rasengan_ springing to life on the palm of his hand, "What the hell do you know!?" He yelled as he charged at his other self.

"I know exactly what you do, you coward!" His other self yelled as he grabbed Naruto's wrist and forced the _rasengan_ to dispel into the ground, sending water flying everywhere.

Naruto performed a handstand on his now _rasengan_ -less hand and kicked his other self away from him. His other self skidding along the wet ground before he smoothly flipped to his feet.

"Yeah, we can use all our old techniques here since we're inside you," his other self said slowly as he wiped the trail of blood leaking out of his busted lip, "But you know that us fighting against each other will solve nothing."

Naruto, now back on his feet, shot his other self a hateful glare, "Is that why you're here? To convince me to save Saber?"

His other self returned the glare with equal ferocity, "Of course not. I'm here because you've suppressed too much these last ten years. You've strayed too much." He started walking slow and deliberate steps around Naruto, "Living a wretched life without even acknowledging this world. To you, nothing in this world mattered, nothing ever concerned you- concerned _us_. But... that was wrong. No one should have to live a life where nothing that they do matters to them. Where everything is meaningless and everyone is basically background noise."

Naruto stayed silent as mind and heart both jumbled up, trying to provide a reasonable excuse- or anything really, to justify his actions.

"I suppose, in your own twisted way, you didn't give up on Konoha," his other self continued, "At first, you thought that Sasuke would come rescue you, so nothing in this world should matter. But then, as the years went by, despair consumed you and you closed yourself off from reality to stop that horrible feeling. You lost yourself in that process though. When you closed yourself off from reality, you locked your own self away inside of you."

Naruto wanted to scream- to yell, "YOU'RE LYING!", but... nothing escaped from his open mouth.

His other self didn't stop, "You didn't want to acknowledge the fact that you lost yourself, so you tried to force it. You forced yourself to act like how you were supposed to. You've been in this world for ten years, but you haven't lived a day!"

"I..." Naruto's voice was hoarse as he looked down at his hands, "I don't-"

"Fuji-nee, Kiritsugu, and Sakura were the only people in this world to ever completely break through your shell and truly make you consider them _real_. Remember how you promised that you would definitely find a way to introduce Fuji-nee and Sakura to everyone back in the Elemental Nations? Tell me, just how much of that did you say to yourself because you knew, that as Uzumaki Naruto, that is what you _would have_ said? How much of that was genuine resolve?"

"That's... that's not true..." Naruto whispered hoarsely.

"Do you really believe that?" His other self asked whims he came to a stop in front of him and locked his eyes with him, "Do you really, _really_ believe that?"

Naruto was suddenly reminded of his conversation with Obito when the entirety of the Allied Shinobi Forces were pulling all of the Tailed Beasts out of him. He couldn't help but marvel at the similarities of that conversation and this one.

And, just like Obito, Naruto found himself breaking eye-contact.

His other self took this as a sign to continue, "And then, the Holy Grail war started, and you accidentally ended up summoning Saber. Finally, after ten years, you finally had a goal again. You finally found yourself striving towards something again. That promise that you made to Saber after meeting with that creepy priest that night, it wasn't a false promise. You didn't make it because you thought, 'It's what I would have done'. No, you made that promise because you wanted to- because your heart told you to!"

Naruto watched as his other self smiled, "The more the war progressed, the more you started acknowledging reality and recovering yourself," Then, his other self's smile vanished, "Until you lost Saber, that is. Once you lost Saber, you tightened up and the situation became even worse than before. And that's why I'm here."

Naruto silently mulled over his other self's words before he plopped down onto the wet ground and tiredly rubbed his head, "...If things were so bad, then why did you appear only now?"

"Because of this Holy Grail War thing," his other self answered, "You started getting better these past few days before you completely clamped up after you lost Saber. But those past few days were enough, they gave me the strength to materialize. If you still had Saber and were still recovering, then I would have naturally just melded with you, but... you know, here we are..."

"...It's impossible for me to save Saber," Naruto said after a while, "That Shadow's too strong, and now, even Saber's under that wrinkly old fart's control."

"I know," his other self said, "Like I said, I'm you. Of course I know. That's also why I called you a coward. You needed some excuse- any excuse to justify not fulfilling your promise to Saber. Her betraying you was the perfect excuse."

Naruto dropped his head into his hands, "And the Holy Grail? Even if we keep our promise to Saber and win, that thing's still a shortcut based on killing at least six different people. We were the ones who told both Obito and Konohamaru that 'there are no shortcuts'."

"But we're not fighting for that shortcut, are we?" His other self said, "We're fighting for the sake of the promise we made to Saber. We'll have plenty of time to convince her not to use it. As for the Servants, well, the've already lived their lives once, haven't they? They're basically Edo Tensei."

"That still leaves the problem of saving Saber," Naruto weakly pointed out, "We both agreed that it's impossible."

"This is what I meant by losing yourself," his other self answered, "Remember Sasuke, Madara, Obito? Did you forget that they were all stronger than us? Granted, they were all born with an insanely overpowered bloodline limit, but that power was still theirs, wasn't it? We were born with nothing, not even talent. The only advantage we had on our side was Kurama, but even he came with a giant weakness. If we used too much of his chakra, then he would escape the seal."

"We had a lot of chakra..." Naruto weakly protested.

"Which completely shot our chakra control, bringing us back to square one. Yeah, we improved our chakra control, but it's not like Sasuke, Madara, or Obito had too little chakra or anything. Their reserves were way larger than average. But still, we won against them all. Why?"

Naruto's eyes slowly widened as the answer dawned on him, "...It was teamwork! Sasuke was _born_ with that insanely powerful Sharingan, and all we had was larger chakra reserves! But we still managed to close that gap in power because of Kurama's support!"

His other self nodded in a satisfied manner, "Exactly. After Sage mode, Every single power up we've gotten has been because we've relied on others for help. Kyubi Chakra mode, Sage of Six Paths mode... Even in the Holy Grail war, you managed to force that Illya brat back because you had Rin supporting you; you managed to stop Rin because of Saber; you managed to outmaneuver Caster because of Archer and Saber! That's our strength, and that's what you lost sight of! You despaired because you couldn't use anything - neither chakra nor magic - to find a way back home, but if you had just tried to look for someone who could help- someone who was good at dimensional magic, then we might have found a way!"

A small fire started kindling inside Naruto's stomach. Slowly, but surely, he lifted his head from his arms and brought himself up,

"You're right..." He grinned, "I never expected to have some sense knocked into me by myself though..."

His other self shrugged, "What can I say? we excel at being unpredictable."

Naruto smirked as his cerulean eyes blazed to life, "That we do-" he slowly reached out his arm and balled it into a fist, "-Now, let's go be unpredictable and do the impossible once again."

His other self grinned and softly met the fist with his own, "Heh, yeah. We've sat around enough for a lifetime; it's time for the hero to make his entry!" He paused for a second, "Took us long enough."

Naruto chuckled, "What can we say? The hero always arrives at the last minute!"

With identical grins on their faces the two Uzumaki Naruto vanished.

* * *

His eyes snapped open in the darkness of the night. With resolve still blazing in his heart, he leapt to his feet and ran to his wardrobe. In a few swift motions he pulled out his orange hoodie, dark blue jeans, and white socks before he quickly shed his pajamas.

 _ **'Oho! Look who's in hurry!'**_ Kurama's sarcastic voice echoed from his mind, _**'Why it's Uzumaki DUMBASS Naruto! The guy who ignored the giant, fearsome fox in his head for AN ENTIRE GODDAMN DAY!'**_

Naruto made a sheepish face as threw on his clothes, "I guess I owe you an apology, Kurama. Sorry 'bout today."

 _ **'Oh yeeaah! A simple sorry solves everything, doesn't it!?'**_ Kurama yelled, his voice still dripping with sarcasm. His voice dropped down into a deadly growl, _**'You do something like that again, and I'll freakin' gut you. Got that?'**_

"Yeah, yeah," Naruto unconcernedly waved off as he quickly washed his face and gargled in the bathroom before rushing off to the main door and putting on his grey sneakers.

 _ **'So? You got a plan?'**_ Kurama asked.

Naruto froze in the middle of swiping the house keys from on top of the shoe-rack,

 _'...Ah, I forgot.'_

 _ **'Think of a plan first, you dumbass! If you just charge at them like an idiot, then all you'll manage to do is die!'**_

Naruto laughed sheepishly as he sat down on the step leading into his home. His mood sobered,

"Saber's probably already that wrinkly old fart's Servant, and those Command Seals can easily force her to fight me. The first thing that I need to do is figure out how to defeat Saber..."

 _ **'Impossible,'**_ Kurama said, _**'You haven't defeated Saber even once. And considering how she fought against other Servants, she wasn't even trying her best against you.'**_

Naruto's eye twitched at the jab, "Yeah..." he agreed reluctantly, "There's no way I can defeat her in a straight up fight... Unless..." his eyes lit up as an idea suddenly started taking form in his mind, "Yeah... that might just end up working!" He leapt to his feet and rushed out the door, making sure to lock it behind him,

"Let's go, Kurama!"

 _ **'What?'**_ Kurama asked, _ **'What's the plan?'**_

"It's nothing concrete yet, but I've got a general idea!" Naruto said excitedly before he switched to talking telepathically, realizing that almost everyone was asleep at this time and might not appreciate his loud enthusiasm, _'First we have to go Rin's house!'_

 ** _'Yeah, ok, but what's the plan!?"_** Kurama asked frustratedly.

 _'I'll tell you along with Rin!'_

With a large grin blooming onto his face, he ran through the empty streets towards Rin's house.

* * *

In the brightly lit living room of the Tohsaka manor, thousands of potential strategies ran through Rin's head as she leaned over a map of Ryudou temple alongside Dragch- ahem, Archer. They'd already been debating over how to assault Caster and Assassin for hours, yet they still hadn't come up with anything solid.

"How about you engage Assassin and lure him here?" She asked as she pointed at a location in the map, "I can set up a bounded field and we'll easily get rid of Assassin before Caster shows herself..."

Archer shook his head, "No, Assassin won't stray too far from the temple, and even if he does, Caster-"

Suddenly, a presence entered the perimeter of her bounded field which caused her head to snap up, interrupting Archer. She glanced at the fancy old grandfather clock,

"It's one in the morning, who on earth could it be?"

"A boyfriend of yours perhaps?"

Rin glared at her Servant opened her mouth to retort, but-

DING DONG. The sound of the doorbell rang throughout the house.

Rin's mouth pressed into a thin line, "...Go to the roof and get ready, Archer. Whoever this is, even if they rang the doorbell, there's no discounting the possibility that they're here to attack us."

"Do you sense a Servant?" Archer asked.

Rin shook her head, "No, but we'd still better be prepared- just in case."

Archer gave her a small nod and Dematerialized. A few seconds later, she heard him groan through their mental link,

 _'Ugh, him.'_

"Who is it?" She asked curiously.

 _'Just- go open the door.'_

Run bristled at being ordered around, but walked to the door anyway. She took a peek through the peephole and recognized the whisker-marked, spiky haired, blonde boy standing in from of her door.

Instantly, her mood soured.

"Oi, Rin! I know you're there!" Naruto yelled through the door, "I heard your footsteps, open up!" Then it seemed as if he realized something and added, "...Please?"

Rin took a few seconds to consider her next course of action before she came to a decision. She turned the knob on her door and only pushed it open enough to fit her head through. She fixed a fierce glare on her face and only popped her head out to meet Naruto.

 _"What?"_ She asked, her voice murderous.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, a sheepish grin on his face, "Well, uh, first of all, sorry about today..."

Rin didn't drop her glare, "You damn well should be. And? What else did you want?"

Naruto looked so discouraged by her enduring anger that Rin found all her rage immediately evaporating.

"Fine, I'll forgive you," she said with a roll of her eyes, "But something like this better not happen again."

Naruto instantly brightened up, and Rin found that his smile was quite infectious. She barely managed to stop herself from grinning along with him,

"And?" She asked, a lot less harshly this time, "Why else are you here?"

Naruto's grin turned mischievous, "Right, and second, I've come to cash in on that favor you owe me."

Run raised an eyebrow.

* * *

 **Author's Note - Sorry everyone. I know I said that the updates would take longer, but I honestly didn't expect it to take _this_ long. I'm almost a hundred percent sure that the next update won't take nearly as long. Also, you guys remember how I said that the chapters would be a lot shorter? Yeah... that idea was scrapped. it was actually thanks to a reviewer, Yandarella Kiuha, that this idea was scrapped. So thanks, ****Yandarella Kiuha (Even though the way you wrote your review with multiple "hmphs" in it was a bit weird, but I suppose that's the joke).**

 **Anyway, I couldn't find the time frame for how much time is at least required to make the Shadow manifest if Zouken is trying his hardest, so I took liberties. Also, seeing as even Berserker could sense the danger of the Shadow, Saber's instincts told her the same here (Also since, you know, her instincts are ranked higher).**

 **And finally, Naruto's gotten his head back in the game! Glad that's over with!**

 **P.S. Why on earth is it so hard to use these things: "-"?**


	13. Flight From Mount Enzou

**Disclaimer - I don't own Fate/Stay Night nor do I own Naruto**

* * *

Naruto and Rin were both seated across from each other in the luxurious living room of the Tohsaka manor while Archer was standing right behind Rin. They were currently in the process of debating Naruto's request.

"Hah!? You want us to accompany you to Caster's hideout!?" Rin asked incredulously.

Naruto nodded, "Yep. I'm kinda scared that she'll end up attacking me."

Rin made a face like she was staring at a particularly stupid idiot, "Huh? Of course she'll end up attacking you if you attack..." Her voice trailed away as realization dawned on her face, "Oh... you don't plan to attack her, do you?"

Naruto grinned, "Nope. I need to negotiate with her, but without a Servant there, she'll probably just end up killing me out of anger."

Rin furrowed her brows, "You _do_ realize that Archer can't take Caster and Assassin both at once, right?"

Naruto nodded, "Of course. I don't want Dragcher there to fight them both off, I want him there as a deterrent - or maybe an escape plan, if things get bad."

Rin frowned, "Even so... bringing Dragcher into that kind of situation is risky."

Archer's eye twitched violently "Oi, Rin. Since when did YOU start calling me 'Dragcher'? That means you also think that your Servant dresses in drag you know? Are you okay with that? Are you REALLY okay with that?"

Rin put up a hand, a speculative look on her face, "Quiet, Dragcher. I'm thinking."

Naruto looked up at Archer and left Rin to her thoughts, "Didn't that priest say that a Master usually summons a Servant based on some sort of connection or similarity?"

Archer's eye-twitching increased in pace, "...Yes, that is the general idea."

Naruto's face split into a wide, sadistically mischievous grin, "Oh ho ho, I wonder what caused Rin to summon you~?"

Archer growled, "If you're insinuate anything about our common connection being _dresses_..."

"But I just asked a simple question!" Naruto said in a faux-hurt voice, his face morphing into the perfect picture of innocence.

Archer rubbed the bridge of his nose and muttered, "Yes... of course you did..."

Naruto leaned closer as his wicked grin returned, "Oh~? Could it be that you're feeling conscious about something... _Dragcher_?"

Byakuya slipped into Archer's palm, "Alright, that's it. I'm stabbing this guy."

"Enough," Rin said calmly as her serious eyes locked with Naruto's, letting him know that joking time was now over, "Naruto... what are the chances of Caster attacking us after hearing your request?"

"I don't know," Naruto answered truthfully, "Honestly, my request is pretty absurd so I have no idea how Caster will react."

Rin rubbed her chin, "I don't like this. One wrong move, and I may end up losing Archer."

Archer's face now betrayed no emotion as he stayed silent.

Naruto clenched his fist and glared at it, as if he'd grasped all of his problems in that one fist,

"Yeah... it might be risky, but this is the only way I can think of to save Saber." He loosened his fist and looked at Rin in the eyes, "Besides, like I said, you still owe me right?"

Rin shot him a glare, "There's no way I'm going to go as far as to sacrifice Archer in order repay a debt."

"And I'm not asking you to," Naruto nodded, "If the situation devolves, then we'll just escape."

Rin let her mind race as she rapidly tapped her finger on the coffee table. A minute passed with only the ticking of the clock and Rin's tapping to keep the stoic Archer and the impatiently fidgeting Naruto company.

Finally, she turned back to look at Archer, "What do you think, Archer?"

"Do whatever you want, Rin." Archer said, "However, there is one thing that worries me: that Jellyfish-like being, as this idiot described it."

"What about it?" Rin asked.

"If his story is to be believed, that jellyfish-esque creature managed to visibly frighten Saber," Archer answered, "We can be sure of the fact that it wasn't a part of her past since she didn't give her Master any information on it before he rushed off to fight it, so that means that creature managed to scare Saber on _first sight_. What could have Saber noticed in that thing to make her so afraid?"

Rin nodded, "That's certainly true... even with someone talentless like Naruto as her Master, Saber was a fairly powerful Servant. I doubt another powerful Servant could have visibly frightened her."

"I don't think it was something Saber consciously noticed," Naruto recalled, "If she had noticed something that frightened even her, she would have told me about it."

"But she didn't..." Rin said, highlighting his point.

Naruto nodded, "Exactly. But the fact remains that she was still afraid, which makes absolutely no sense."

"No," Archer said, "There is one answer that checks all the boxes."

"And what answer is that?" Rin asked curiously.

"Her instincts." Archer revealed before turning to look at Naruto, "What were Saber's instincts ranked as?"

"Rank-A," Naruto gave away unhesitatingly, "Are you saying that Saber's instincts told her that the Shadow was overwhelmingly powerful? I guess that Shadow's presence was giving off a vibe of extreme despair and stuff, but I sensed it too and I wasn't as afraid as her."

"A Servant's instincts are different, especially if they are ranked A," Archer explained, "If a Servant possesses Rank-A instincts, then that means they possess near-precognition. Perhaps her instincts had already told her that she had absolutely no way to win against that jellyfish-esque thing."

"An enemy you have a 0% chance to defeat... I suppose that would frighten anyone," Rin mused,

"Or perhaps Saber had already met that Shadow once before and didn't tell you about it for some unknown reason," Archer added, "Another speculation could be that the Shadow is the natural enemy of all Servants. We can keep speculating, but the point remains that Saber - an extremely powerful Servant - was defeated by an unknown enemy. Not only that, but Saber is now in the enemy's hands."

"And you're saying that we have to deal with this problem sooner or later, correct?" Rin asked Archer.

Archer shrugged, "I am simply pointing out the facts."

Rin blinked before her face morphed into a teasing grin, "...You're a real softy inside, aren't you, Archer?"

"I am SIMPLY pointing out the facts," Archer repeated through a tense jaw.

"Yeah, Dragcher. Thanks for supporting me!" Naruto exclaimed, his mouth widened into a grin, "You really are an awesome guy!"

Archer turned to Rin, "I take back everything I said. We should just stab him."

Rin chuckled, "Sorry but you made an extremely good point, Dragcher. If Naruto's plan allows us to lower this Shadow's fighting potential by stealing Saber away, then we should help him. Who knows, we might even manage to get something like an idea of this Shadow's weakness by asking Saber. I mean, she's their Servant now, isn't she?"

"Meaning she may have may have noticed something about the Shadow while spending so much time around it," Naruto said, catching on to Rin's point.

Rin nodded, "Exactly."

Naruto jumped to his feet, "What are we waiting for then? Let's get going!"

Rin raised an eyebrow, "Just like that? You don't want to prepare or stock up on anything?"

Naruto shook his head, "Nah, don't worry about it, I already came prepared."

Rin shrugged, "If you say so. Give me a few minutes though, to grab everything I need."

"Sure."

* * *

"I'm getting shivers just climbing these stairs again," Naruto said as he, Archer (who was in his dematerialized state at the moment), and Rin made their way up to the Ryuudou shrine. He glanced at Rin's clothing; a red sweater, a short black skirt, and black stockings underneath, "By the way, aren't you cold in that?"

"No," Rin said as she panted slightly. Her gaze was fixed on the endless steps above her, "Now pay attention, we're about to arrive."

"Nah," Naruto shook his head, "we still have a ways to go."

Rin's head snapped to Naruto, a horrified expression on her face, "WHAT!? We've been climbing for, like five hours now!"

"More like two," Archer chimed.

Rin's eye twitched, "When the hell are we going to arrive!?"

"About twenty more minutes... I think," said Naruto.

Rin's face loosened, "Right... I guess you would know since you've been here before. I've been meaning to ask you actually, how do you expect us to escape if Caster turns hostile?"

"I'd say our best option is descending the mountain through the back," Naruto said, "Assassin will no doubt guard the front."

"The back..." Rin put a hand on her chin, "If I remember correctly, the back is packed with trees and there's even a small lake there."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Your point?"

"Will you even be able to escape Caster through all these obstacles?" Rin asked, "If the situation devolves, Archer will only be able to carry one person - ME - to safety. You'll be on your own, you know?"

Naruto smiled a nostalgic smile as he brushed his palm against the bark of one of the trees framing the endless stairs, "I wouldn't worry about the trees obstructing me."

Rin raised an eyebrow, but Naruto didn't elaborate.

Roughly ten more minute of climbing later, the massive gateway of Ryuudou temple and Assassin's figure in front of it came into view.

He stood there, unwavering, his purple robes blending into the darkness of the night. His abnormally long blade, resting on his shoulder, glinted with an eerie sheen as he silently gazed at the world in front of him, watching, waiting. And he was slightly smiling with a serene expression on his face, as if there was no where else he would rather be.

Naruto almost felt bad for disturbing this picture of tranquility.

Archer materialized and Assassin's smile widened as he caught sight of the trio.

"Oh! Saber's Master!" He greeted excitedly as they stopped a ways away from him.

Naruto raised his hand in greeting, "Yo."

"You're quite late, aren't you?" Assassin asked, almost like they were old friends. There was a slight twitch in his fingers, betraying his anticipation, "We were expecting you guys to attack last night! Although, this morning, my hag of a Master did say that she didn't expect you to be a problem anymore; so congratulations for completely destroying her expectations again."

"Ah no," Naruto said, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. He couldn't help but feel bad for letting the strange Servant down; the guy was just so earnest in his desires...

"We're not here to be trouble this time. We just want to talk with Caster right now."

Assassin raised an eyebrow, looking sort of disappointed, "Just talk?" He looked around a bit, "Come to think of it, where's Saber? I don't think she was the type to let her Master just wander off wherever he wants."

Naruto clenched his fists as he strained to smile, "Caster didn't tell you huh? The reason Caster thinks I won't be a problem anymore is because some guy forced Saber to become his Servant after defeating us."

Assassin blinked, "Oh." He slowly readied his blade, "Nevertheless, you know I can't let you pass, right?"

Naruto looked unfazed. Rather than prepare for battle, he cupped his hands over his mouth to amplify his voice and...

"OI CASTER! I KNOW YOU CAN HEAR ME!" He yelled, causing Rin, who was right beside him, to yelp in surprise, "I'M SURE YOU'VE SEEN THAT SHADOW TOO! I KNOW THAT'S NOT YOUR DOING, BUT I ALSO KNOW THAT THING'S MADE UP OF SOME SERIOUS MAGIC!" he glared at the massive gateway behind Assassin as his voice dropped into a quiet, conversational volume, "As a Caster, you're probably the only one who can unravel that magic of his, but with Saber on his side now..."

He trailed off, letting the unsaid point ring through the night.

Everyone stared at Naruto in stupefied silence as he waited, his posture betraying absolutely no tension. Suddenly, a swirl of black miasma appeared out of thin air between Naruto and Assassin. The phenomenon was as only large as Naruto's head and looked like a black mini-tornado, and the energy spun a little more before it faded away to reveal a shimmering orb; Caster's hooded face observed them from within it.

"Well, well, you wish to speak with me?" She smirked mockingly.

 _ **'Why is she so happy?'**_ Kurama asked irritatedly.

 _'It's 'cause we came to her,'_ Naruto explained, _'She knows WE want something from HER, which means she already has the upper hand in this negotiation.'_

"Well?" Naruto asked Caster, "Will you listen?"

Caster's face spun around the orb to face Assassin. "Let them through."

Assassin cocked his head to the side, a small, unconcerned, smile still nestled upon his face, "Just like that?"

Caster glared at him with disdain, "Do not question your orders, dog. Let them through."

Assassin, unfazed at her hostility, languidly raised his hands in a placating gesture,

"Right, right," he turned to the trio, "You heard the lady, you may pass."

Naruto gave Assassin a grin and a nod as he walked past him, flanked by both Archer and Rin. Rin kept a wary eye on Assassin as she passed him by.

"Careful in there!" Assassin called from behind them once they were almost out of the range of his voice, "You're about to negotiate with a fox!"

"Foxes really aren't that smart," Naruto called back, his voice betraying absolutely no worry, "Trust me, I'd know!"

 _ **'I will freakin' murder you.'**_

Naruto ignored him.

Instead, he focused on the smirking woman hovering above the ground a ways away from him. Her purple cloak lazily waved and billowed around her as her entire form was wrapped in an etherial, devilish aura of dark purple miasma.

Caster. Her face was almost entire concealed by her hood, so he could not make out her expression; however, the smirk that was visible on her face seemed to make the dark night only darker.

"Last time I could not kill you because, as weak as Archer is, he would still have taken that small opening to kill me. And I could not kill him because you would have summoned Saber in that split second opening I would have provided you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "And? I know all that already, why mention it now?"

Caster's smirk widened and the shadows seemed to bend around her, "Because in that situation I was in your mercy. Now, you are in mine. Not only that, but that incident also served to spark quite a... _deep_ hatred for you inside me."

Naruto grimaced, "Seriously, lady. You're still pissed about that? Let it go already."

"It's barely been two days."

"A day too long, in my opinion."

Caster's smirk wavered, betraying her irritation. A horde of spears made of pure purple energy materialized behind her, "Perhaps I should just kill you now?" She asked tightly, "Your words certainly reek of the desire to be skewered..."

Naruto's eyes widened as he put up his hands in a placating gesture. Cold sweat ran down the back of his neck, "R-right, too far. Sorry."

Caster didn't dematerialize her spears.

"Speak."

Naruto nodded and put his hands down, "You've probably been keeping up with the current events, right?" He asked as means to start off.

"Yes, I saw all that happened last night," Caster drawled, "That does not explain why you have come to ME though. Do you perhaps wish for an alliance. If that is the case then I am afraid I must decline; fighting side by side with you grants me no advantage at all and I must admit, such an action would make me _physically_ sick - even though it should be impossible for that to happen to a Servant."

Naruto's eye twitched, "No, I'm not here to ask you to fight alongside me; what I want from you is..." He fidgeted a bit and took a deep breath, "Your Noble Phantasm _._ "

Caster floated there in stunned silence for a few seconds as she processed his words. Naruto would have been surprised if she _hadn't_ reacted in a manner similar to this.

"...You wish to ASK me whether you can just TAKE my Noble Phantasm?"

Naruto shrugged, "Well, I think "borrow" would be a better word."

"...Die."

Without a single movement, Caster's spears rushed forward; ready to turn the trio into pincushions. Archer grabbed Rin by the waist and bent to leap away, but before he could, Naruto put a hand up and yelled,

"Wait, wait, wait! Just hear me out for a sec!"

The spears paused mid-flight.

"And what could you possibly say to convince me to "lend" you the _ultimate crystallization of my legend_."

"Come on!" Naruto said, "You saw how powerful that Shadow thing was, you saw how it defeated Saber. Now, with Saber on his side - y'know, one of your _greatest weaknesses in this war_ \- Zouken can easily defeat YOU."

""Defeated Saber?"" Caster's sneered, "Your statement is incorrect, boy. Saber did not lose due to that... as you call it, "Shadow's" power; she lost because she had to protect YOU."

Naruto flinched. Of course he'd already been aware of that fact, but to hear it so clearly verbalized...

Caster continued, smug satisfaction and sadism oozing from her words, "Had you not been there, Saber could have easily retreated away from harm. And, judging from that expression on your face, you are well aware of that fact."

Naruto's gaze shifted away.

"Although, I will admit that when that Shadow consumed Saber, it allowed me identify its magic and deduce its nature."

Naruto's head snapped up at her, "You know what that thing is?"

"Yes," Caster nodded apathetically, "You would be quite surprised to hear its true form... but that is a story for another time."

Naruto glared at her.

"Now, now, don't look at me like that," She mockingly chided. She mock-sighed as if she were dealing with a particularly troublesome child, "Very well, as a display of my generosity, let me tell you of its true nature."

Inside Naruto, Kurama narrowed his eyes, **_"She's going to tell you just like that?"_**

Naruto couldn't help but feel the same confusion and suspicion as Kurama.

Outside, Caster continued, "That "Shadow" of yours is an amalgamation of various magics, and its only desire is to consume magic. It seems that the Makiri Patriarch has limited control over it, but I wonder how long that will last..."

Naruto blinked, "Consume... magic?"

"Yes, consume magic. And it can extract magic by consuming almost any any person, citizens, mages... reanimated dead legends," Caster's chuckled maliciously at the visible shock on Naruto's face, "Oh yes... _even Servants_."

"You're saying... it consumed Saber?" Naruto asked, horrified.

Caster laughed a shrill, derisive laughter, "Fortunately for you, the Makiri patriarch has found use for Saber and corrupted her."

Naruto grit his teeth as white hot anger flooding his veins, _'She's toying with me...'_

"What do you mean "corrupted her"?" Rin asked skeptically.

Caster's eyes bored into Naruto's, her amusement displayed for all to see, "The Makiri patriarch's dog has the ability to corrupt Servants by coming into contact with them, who are then binded to it. This means that they will have their negative emotions heightened, but will still follow its orders without hesitation. To add to matters, it is even capable of regenerating from any attack made by anyone, be they Servant or Master."

"An opponent like that..." Archer mused.

"It's a natural Servant-hunter..." Rin observed.

"That doesn't matter," Naruto growled, "I couldn't care less about the Shadow. My offer is to remove Saber from Zouken and that Shadow's control in exchange for you lending me the Rule Breaker."

"And how will you do that?" Caster asked challengingly, "Will you perhaps ask Archer to strike her in battle? Don't be a fool; even when _you_ were her Master, Saber had the ability to easily defeat Archer. Now, with the Shadow as her Master, her magic reserves are constantly filled to the brim, meaning all her abilities are heightened. No, I will not lose my Noble Phantasm in some emotionally charged expedition such as this."

Naruto took a deep breath and funneled his raging emotions to one crucial point.

"I don't intend to leave this task to anyone else," he said, his cerulean eyes glowing against the night with fierce determination, " _I'll_ be the one to strike Saber with the Rule Breaker."

The look in his eyes startled Caster into silence and she barely squashed the urge to recoil. In the distant corners of her mind, she noticed that she'd lost focus on her energy spears, leaving them to vanish into thin air.

She barked out a forceful laugh, straining through her surprise, "You? The person without any ability to use magic? Do you suppose you can convince Zouken to let you stab her? You-"

"No." Naruto interrupted, resolution and confidence radiating from his voice. He jabbed his thumb into his chest, " _I'll_ face Saber in battle and strike her with the Rule Breaker, it's as simple as that."

Caster frowned "...Are you perhaps delusional?"

Naruto smirked, "Come on, I defeated you too, didn't I? That should already tell you that I excel at accomplishing the unexpected."

"That was a different situation," Caster said, "If Archer had not appeared, you would have easily lost."

"Yeah, but that time you were the one who attacked me" Naruto said, "But this time, _I'll_ be the one to take the initiative. That way, I won't have to wait for any lucky saves since I'll already be prepared."

 _ **'What do you mean we could have easily lost because she was the one who attacked us?'**_ Kurama's voice echoed inside Naruto, _**'We could've easily escaped if we would've just washed Caster's control point away back then.'**_

 _'Even so, as soon as we entered the temple, we were stuck with no chance of escape,'_ Naruto said, _'Besides, it's best if we don't let her know the fact that we have a way to stop her magic... it might just end up proving to be the decisive factor in this negotiation.'_

"...Do you really think you can win against Saber?" Caster finally asked after a period of silence, bringing Naruto out of his conversation with Kurama.

"Yes."

The word was said so unhesitatingly that Caster couldn't help but believe him, even if just slightly.

But even so, Caster would not bend so easily,

 _'It is true that if this blonde brat steals Saber away from the Makiri Patriarch, then I will be able to eliminate his pesky dog. However...'_ she scowled, _'there are two major problems with lending him my Rule Breaker...'_

Inside Naruto, a conversation was taking place which paralleled Caster's thoughts.

 _ **'And those two major problems are...**_ _ **?'**_ Kurama asked.

Naruto glared into Caster's hooded eyes, _'One: She's afraid that I'll lose, meaning that she'll lose the Rule Breaker forever...'_

Caster returned his glare, her thoughts echoing his _'...And two: I'm afraid that, with Saber on his side, this boy may turn out to be an even larger threat than the Makiri patriarch and his dog.'_

Naruto grimaced inwardly, _'Simply put, it all depends on how much faith she has in my abilities; If she has too much faith, then she'll think that letting me "take" Saber back is a bad idea since I might get the power neededto finally defeat her. If she doesn't have ENOUGH faith in my abilities, then she'll think that lending me the Rule Breaker to her is also a bad idea since it could lead to her losing her Noble Phantasm.'_

 ** _'So you need the perfect balance, eh?'_** Kurama asked, leaning on his propped up arm.

Naruto nodded inwardly, ' _Exactly. The fact that I managed to outmaneuver her will probably give her faith in my abilities, but the fact that I fell under her magic spell will probably drop that faith down to a perfect balance.'_ He grinned a nervous grin inwardly as sweat moistened the palms of his hands, _'Come one, you hag! Hurry up and say yes! My image in your mind should be perfect for this scenario!'_

Behind Naruto, Archer sighed as he took a subtle step in front of Rin.

He smiled sardonically, ' _You lose.'_

Back with Naruto, he was brought out of his thoughts when Caster opened her mouth and spoke, "The fact that you so easily succumbed to my magic..."

Every little action from her made him twitch, and she seemed to be speaking so slow that each word seemed to drag on for eternity. Finally, Caster announced her judgement, "...leads me to believe that lending you my Noble Phantasm will only lead... _to disaster._ "

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and alarm, _'What? Why!? Was the impact of me not being able to throw off her magic larger than I thought?'_

"You will die here," Caster declared remorselessly.

Naruto tensed his legs as a new set of spears made of purple energy materialized behind Caster, "Wait! Just think about it-"

He was interrupted when the spears flew towards him, their forms blurring from the speed. Naruto barely had any time to register the movement before he scrambled to the side, narrowly avoiding the dangerous attack.

He snarled, "Would you just-!'

Suddenly, Caster froze, and her head snapped to the entrance of Ryuudou temple. Naruto noticed that Archer (who already had Rin in his arms) had done the same.

A feeling of pitch black hopelessness slowly permeated the air and burrowed its way deep inside of him. It caressed his heart with its gentle hands and gripped his body, locking it firmly in place.

 _'It's... here huh?'_ Naruto murmured to Kurama.

Not that he had any doubt.

 _ **'Probably...'**_

"Well..." Caster said, only the slightest hint of surprise showing on her hooded face, "I didn't expect them to attack so soon..."

* * *

Zouken slowly and deliberately walked up the endless stairs, An ominous 'Tok' rang out on each step as he used his wooden cane to balance himself. His eyes glinted with the light of amusement as the Shadow and and the Blackened Saber trailed behind him.

Finally, he came at a stop in front of the faux-Assassin.

"Oh? Do you wish to pass, honored elder?" The faux-Assassin asked with a small smile on his face.

Zouken smirked, "I will not ask you to move; it would be much appreciated if you simply stayed still instead."

The faux-Assassin shrugged, readying his abnormally long blade, "Sorry, honored elder, but no can do. I've been asked to guard the gate, so guard the gate I shall."

Zouken's smirk widened, "Pity."

"I have a final request, honored elder," the faux-Assassin said, making sure to keep the three of them in his sight.

Zouken raised a non-existent eyebrow, "'A final request'? Have you already realized that you will not survive the night?"

the faux-Assassin pointed his sword at the Shadow behind Zouken, "I can already tell that that thing is not something I can defeat. But still, at least indulge a dying warrior."

"Speak."

the faux-Assassin now pointed his sword at Saber, "I've been itching for a rematch with her, so you don't mind if I fight her first, right?"

Zouken smiled.

Ah, now he understood. This was "the pride of a warrior"; a concept which many ancient warriors held aloft. In some ways, it was their most vital ideal; it kept them from dropping their blades under even extreme pressure, it kept them from crumbling in defeat, it kept them from becoming senseless murderers in victory...

...And it kept them from fearing the possibility of death.

From how Zouken understood it, the logic went: "to die at the hands of an enemy you have acknowledged, would that be so bad?"

"Very well," Zouken agreed.

How foolish.

* * *

Naruto tensed again as Caster turned to him.

"The situation has changed," she declared.

The peaceful chirping of crickets belied the threat upon the temple's doorstep.

"...True," Naruto agreed hesitantly.

Caster seemed to be considering something.

"...Uzumaki Emiya Naruto..." Caster called in a strange, evaluating voice, almost as if she was unsure of whether her next choice was truly the best decision she could make. She conjured up a piece of paper out of thin air and showed it to Naruto. It was a rough map of Fuyuki city with a location marked on it.

"Memorize that location," she commanded, "If you manage to survive, then meet me there. Perhaps then I will lend you my Noble Phantasm."

With that she disappeared in a swirl of purple miasma.

"Wh-what is this feeling, Naruto?" Rin asked, her breath rapid and shallow. She was still being carried by Archer, "Is this coming from that Shadow thing you talked about?"

"No doubt about it," Archer said as the trio made their way to the opposite end of the temple, "This feeling... I can already tell that I can't win against that thing."

"Let's go," Naruto said, "We'll escape from the back."

"I sense another Servant - probably Saber," Archer informed, "In which case, we should probably split up. Staying together will only help them combine their powers to catch us.

Naruto nodded, "Good idea."

Suddenly, the ground shook and a loud CRASH greeted their ears from behind them. Naruto looked back and saw that a large chunk of the cement floor had been destroyed and Assassin was being held up by the Shadow's tentacles. Saber, who looked like all the emotion had been sucked out from her, was trailing behind Zouken and the Shadow.

There was a terrible look of shock and betrayal on Assassin face.

"Y-You promised..." He rasped pathetically at Zouken as his body was slowly absorbed by the Shadow's tentacles, "You said... that I could fight... Saber..."

Zouken broke out in an unrestrained cackle of amusement, "DID YOU REALLY THINK I WOULD ALLOW YOU SUCH A MERCY!? DON'T BE A FOOL!"

His eyes danced with malice as he calmed his laughter, "I would have enjoyed turning you into a real Assassin, but unfortunately, my Shadow needs large amounts of mana to survive. You will suffice."

Assassin feebly tried to reach for the smirking old man, "Y-you..."

"Die knowing that you did not even get to fulfill such a simple wish..." Zouken said with a taunting smirk.

Assassin had been almost completely absorbed by now, only a single eye remained,

"I..." Blood dribbled down his chin as his body slackened. He sighed and locked eyes with Saber's twin orbs of emotionless sulphur, "...really would have liked to... have battled you one last time..."

And then Sasaki Koujiro, the warrior who never truly existed in history, disappeared entirely into the Shadow; his echoing lament the final remnant of his short existence as a Servant.

Saber simply stood there, not moving an inch. There was no hint of any regret or mourning on her face. In fact, her face looked like a sheet of metal, unreadable and unpenetrable.

Zouken then turned to the three spectators. There was a vicious smirk on his face.

"Go!" Naruto hurriedly yelled, realizing the danger they were now in.

Archer did not need persuading. In a flash, he vaulted over the back wall of the temple and disappeared into the descending slope of woods.

"Destroy them," Zouken commanded.

The Shadow and Saber both rushed forward as Naruto clambered over the wall. The Shadow headed for him while Saber followed the direction Archer had headed. Both directions had been chosen carefully by the blonde and the Servant beforehand in order to avoid the lake sitting right behind the middle of Ryuudou temple by going around it.

in the middle of hopping over to the nearest tree branch, Naruto looked behind him out of the corner of his eye. Time seemed to slow as resolute cerulean met uncaring sulphur. In that single connection, Naruto tried to convey the entirety of his boundless determination.

 _'I'll definitely save you... I promise...'_

Saber's sulphur orb dismissively turned away.

* * *

The trees flashed by and the scenery blurred around him as Archer hopped from tree to tree at a speed that was barely discernible as a red blur to normal humans. The wind pressed forcefully against his face and pushed his hair back while his cloak fluttered violently behind him. As he was a Servant, the blinding speeds did not impact his eyes as heavily as it would have a normal human's.

Rin had squeezed her eyes shut, and was trying to tighten herself up into a ball in Archer's arm. Clearly, the speed and wind were getting to her. Unfortunately, he did not have the luxury of slowing down for her. He could already sense a familiar presence catching up.

"Here she comes..."

"Who? Who's chasing us?" Rin asked.

Archer smirked slightly, "Your boyfriend's former Servant."

"Now's not the time to be making jokes, you dumbass!" Rin scolded, "Do you even have a plan!?"

"Of course; descend the mountain and escape... somehow."

"Oh... we're gonna die," Rin said faintly.

"I would worry more about your boyfriend, if I were you. He has no Servant to back him up, and he's got that Shadow chasing him."

"There's nothing more we can do for Naruto," Rin said gravely, "He's on his own out there. Besides, I don't think escaping Saber will be that easy either."

"You got that right," Archer said as he sensed Saber gaining on them.

He wasn't sure wether he would have been able to escape even without Rin in his arms, but the fact that he _did_ have Rin in his arms hampered his ability to reach top speed, thereby only lowering their chances to escape.

This would prove troublesome.

* * *

"Come on! Is that all you've got?" Naruto looked back and taunted as he flew from tree to tree. His movements were smooth, and he flitted from tree to tree like a sparrow.

Ha! The feeling of flying through the air, the feeling of landing on a solid branch, the feeling of timing his jumps instinctively, the wind in his hair - how nostalgic they all were! He didn't know just how much he'd missed this until now!

The Shadow behind him was barely keeping up, even though nothing seemed to obstruct it. It slipped around the trees, shrubs, and plants like liquid, and then it easily reformed into one solid blob when nothing was in its way.

Naruto smirked.

When he'd arrived in this world, almost all of his abilities, skills, and powers had been suppressed deep inside of him. However, the world had only been able to suppress a grand total of ten years.

Meaning, all the years before that still remained.

Obviously, that did not mean much as he didn't really have any useful skills at that age, and any jutsu he had learned back then could not be used here since his chakra had also been suppressed.

However, there was one skill that he'd been using ever since he'd learned how to walk and jump as a child.

Tree-hopping.

Living in Konoha, tree-hopping was one of the most essential abilities to learn for an aspiring Shinobi, and Naruto could not remember a time when he wasn't an aspiring Shinobi. Constant tree-hopping had ingrained the skill into his body, and now, even after ten years of neglecting that skill, it easily came back to him like riding a bicycle.

"You're in my home turf, you jellyfish bastard!" Naruto laughed, "This is where I shine!"

The Shadow reached out with several tentacles, but Naruto maneuvered around them with profound ease.

"YOU HEAR THAT, ZOUKEN!?" He hollered into the sky, his face flushed with glee and adrenaline, "THE ONLY WAY YOU'LL CATCH ME IS IF I LET YOU CATCH ME!"

* * *

Rin face-palmed as she heard Naruto's excited voice echo through the forest,

"What is wrong with that guy?"

"I suspect there is more than one answer to that," Archer murmured.

A burst of magic suddenly greeted his senses, and before he could realize what was going on, Saber instantaneously appeared behind him, already in the middle of a swing. Archer clenched his teeth and pushed his his body to its absolute limits to leap away in time. The sword grazed the tiniest bit of his cloak, but otherwise, he escaped without harm.

Already predicting Saber's next move, Archer prepared his magic.

And sure enough, another burst of magic hit his senses, notifying him of her her second burst of speed. In a flash Archer created four swords behind him, all pointed at Saber; and a shockwave traveled through the air as a powerful CLANG rang out, followed by a dull 'thud' on the ground below.

Saber's armour had probably saved her from being skewered, but she had still lost her momentum against the swords and fallen to the forest ground.

Archer smirked as he leaped off another tree. His jumps were short, but frequent. He didn't want to jump too high in the air and let Saber target him there.

"Is she still chasing us?" Rin asked.

"Yeah," Archer grunted as he notic Saber's presence rapidly catching up again, "We need to find some way lose her, or we'll never escape."

He looked back for a second.

There she was, the King of Knights. The combination of the murderous aura rolling off her, the sinister black armour, and the emotionless sulphur eyes almost made it seem as the personification of death itself was hounding at their heels. Considering the situation, he wasn't sure if he was even that far off.

Rapidly, closer and closer she got. He had to do something or she would soon catch up.

The spark of an idea lit up in his brain and he opened his mouth slightly.

 _"I am the bone of my sword..."_

Suddenly, more than twenty swords of different shapes and sizes all materialized behind him. Instantly after their conception, they rushed forward towards the blonde haired pursuer.

A massive explosion rang out as the multitude of swords collided with Saber's form.

A split second later, Saber emerged from the smoke absolutely unharmed. Unsurprising. The move had been too telegraphed, too obvious, too direct.

But it had accomplished its main goal. She had been stalled, even if for only a fraction of a second.

"Get ready, Rin," Archer said, preparing his magic.

"Wha-?"

Rin was cut off when another swarm of swords appeared behind Archer and shot off towards Saber. Only this time, as soon as they were sent, another volley of swords appeared and did the same.

Once again, Archer gave Saber no time to rest as he sent yet another volley in the instant the previous one was fired. Again and again and again he created and fired; A repeating cycle of endless production and attack.

Saber easily and forcefully cut through the barrage, her hands blurring as her blade turned into a whirling dance of death around her. However, the act of pushing through the horde of swords caused her to lose some of the precious time and speed that she needed to catch up to Archer.

Realizing this, Saber changed her strategy and swerved around the blades, only deflecting when necessary. Unfortunately for her, even the act of dodging itself caused her to lose time and speed. The problem was that this was not a matter of dodging only slightly. This was a veritable barrage of swords aimed towards her predicted path, and the fact that Saber was moving at such a high speed towards them only served to help Archer's attack by decreasing the time Saber had to comprehend the swords' flight paths and dodge.

Dodging efficiently was almost impossible under these conditions.

So she decided to not to. Instead, with a powerful leap that sounded like a mini sonic boom, she launched herself into the sky.

Archer didn't let up though, his swords glinted murderously as they continued to try and skewer Saber, even in the air.

"What are you doing, Archer!?" Rin yelled against the wind, "You're running out of magical energy at an extremely fast rate!"

"That's why I said, "get ready"," Archer said, "Provide me with more magical energy before I run out. This is the only way I can think of stalling her."

Saber raised her sword above her head, and a powerful aura emanated from her.

Archer's eyes widened as he recognized the implications of this. This was one of the only few memories he had left of when he had once been alive.

 _'Excalibur!? Can she really use it in mid-air!?'_

If she used her Noble Phantasm now, there would be no way for them to escape.

Sweat dripped down Archer's brow as he forced his mind to work on overdrive and formed a haphazard plan in under seconds.

"Curl up into ball, Rin," He ordered hastily, "I'm going to throw you."

Rin's snapped wide open, "Wha-!?"

Without waiting for her to finish, Archer hurled Rin into the air ahead of him. His brow eyes blazed furiously as he used the next branch in his path to launch himself at Saber.

He smirked slightly inwardly. This was also a perfect chance disguised as dire situation. If he could get Saber while she was trying to fire Excalibur, then he could stop her from pursuing them _permanently_.

However, Saber did not conform to his predictions. She lowered her blade into a defensive stance and waited for him to come to her.

Archer grimaced as his mind took in her strange actions,

 _'She tricked me... she must've thought that blonde brat informed us about her Noble Phantasm to lure me to her!'_

Archer streaked through the air and his twin blades, Kanshou and Byakuya, collided against Saber's Excalibur in a violent clash. The sound of metal against metal rang throughout the forest, and the Archer's muscles strained against the impact.

 _'Four moves... that's all I have before I run out of time to catch Rin, or else, she'll crash against the tree ahead of her and either die or become greviously injured,'_ he reminded himself as he spun over Excalibur and tried to strike Saber with his Kanshou in his right hand, _'No matter, I can easily escape from this clash in four moves!'_

Saber tilted her blade so that Byakuya would slide down and dodged by pushing off it. Archer swung with Kanshou, but was once again met with an iron-clad block. He also tried to bring his feet on Saber at the same time in order to push off of her, however she was too fast and managed to deflect his legs with a sharp kick of her own.

 _Two_

Archer swung Byakuya upwards while Saber was too busy blocking Kanshou, however she instantly spun her swords ninty degrees clockwise and pushed both blades away.

 _Three_

In an instant after the block, Archer flicked his left hand and threw Byakuya at Saber. In the same moment, he created multiple swords around him and fired it at her, and just for good measure, he swung Kanshou back at her.

Saber dodged Byakuya with a tilt of her head, she angled her body to let her armour take the powerful blows of the blades, and she blocked the rest and Kanshou with Excalibur.

Archer smirked. True, the blades he'd created did not have enough momentum to do much to Saber's armour, however, multiple swords colliding with her, no matter how pathetically, still partially disoriented her. Archer took this chance to push off of her body by using his legs.

All of this occurred in under a second.

 _Four_

He spotted Rin flying through the air as she approached his flight path. He'd calculated his push perfectly, and as such, would easily be able to catch her before she crashed against the tree.

Only, he'd pushed off for a fraction of a second before he heard the deadly whistle of Excalibur heading for his torso. He twisted his body and barely managed to push her descending blade towards his side with Kanshou. This had the unintended consequence of pushing him off his flight path.

 _Five_

Saber was about to bring her deflected blade up and strike him with an upward swing, however, the sound of a blade cutting through the air and rapidly approaching her body from behind her, forced her to twist her body in an awkward position to dodge. Byakuya, attracted to its twin blade, Kanshou, had curved in the air like a boomerang and returned. Archer used this chance to push off the flat of her blade and corrected his course.

 _Six_

It was too late though. He didn't have enough time to save her now. Not even his swords could reach her.

Rin flew through the air like a cannonball. She could barely keep her eyes open against the fierce pressure of the wind, and there was a powerful sinking feeling in her stomach. Through the watery whirlwind of green, brown, and black, Rin noticed a tree rapidly approaching her helpless, balled up body.

She grit her teeth and tried to rush through the chant for reinforcement magic. It probably wouldn't do much, but at least there'd be a higher chance for survival.

The tree approached closer and closer. Then time seemed to slow as she realized that she could make out the individual patterns on the brown bark, even through the tears produced by the wind.

Her eyes widened. This was it.

Only, it wasn't.

An orange blur collided her from the side, and the next thing she knew, she was moving in a different direction in the arms of someone else. Rin never thought she could be so grateful for the feeling of simple fabric, and she couldn't help but marvel at its softness for a second.

She looked up and Naruto's cheerful cerulean eyes greeted her.

He grinned, "Yo!"

Rin tried to speak, but she could only manage barely a stutter. Her mouth tasted like ash, her heart was pounding like a machine-gun in her chest, her palms were slick with sweat, and her breath was shallow and sporadic. The memory of her near-death experience was still too fresh in her mind.

"Wh-wha..."

Naruto's grin turned sly, "Guess now you owe me another one."

Somehow, his uncaring manner of dealing with this situation managed to calm her down somewhat. Her heart slowed its beats and her lungs relaxed.

She swallowed, "Wh-why're you here?"

"I heard explosions and the sounds of fighting so I came to check how you guys were doing," Naruto recalled, "I thought you guys had been caught or something!"

"W-we nearly were..."

Archer caught up and matched pace with them, "You okay, Rin?"

"I am now."

Archer turned to Naruto, "What're you doing here? Thought we agreed to split up."

Naruto shrugged, "Like I told Rin, I heard the explosions and sounds of fighting and came to check. Good thing I did."

"What about the Shadow?" Archer asked, noticing the distinct lack of the horrifying creature.

"Probably still on my trail. It couldn't keep up."

Rin furrowed her brow, "Couldn't keep up? Is it really that slow?"

"No," Archer answered, resting a curious eye on Naruto, "In fact, I can sense it approaching right now. Its speed is nothing to scoff at."

Naruto shot him an immodest smirk, "I'm just faster."

Archer looked positively befuddled for a second before he regained his impassive look, "...Is that so?"

Naruto nodded, a serious look overtaking his features, "Yep. That's why I'll carry Rin this time. You go stall Saber."

"Impossible," Rin instantly denied, her usual boldness swiftly flooding her body again, "If Archer stays to stall Saber, then he'll just be attacked by the Shadow too. There's no way Archer will last against Saber and the Shadow working together."

"The Shadow won't attack Archer," Naruto guaranteed, "For some reason, all of it's negative emotions are directed at me."

"Negative emotions?" Rin asked, "What are you talking about? How would you even be able to tell?"

"Just watch," Naruto said.

He swerved away from Archer and continued speeding away from him. Archer blinked confusedly before trying to follow the blonde boy. Like a game of tag, Naruto kept rushing away from the pursuing Archer.

"What are you doing!?" Archer asked, having to shout due to the wind scattering his voice. Annoyance clearly showed on his face.

"Check on the Shadow's presence!" Naruto yelled into the wind, swerving away again as soon as the Servant garbed in red got close, "What do you notice!?"

Archer's eyes widened in realization as Naruto came to his side and matched pace with him again.

"That Shadow... it was only chasing you. When you moved away, that thing changed its direction to only pursue you."

Naruto nodded, "Exactly. That thing doesn't care about anything around it. Right now, it's only focus is on me."

"How did you even know?" Rin asked, "You said that all of its negative emotions were directed at you. Did you find out by sensing its negative emotions or something?"

"Nah," Naruto said, technically not even lying as it had been Kurama who had sensed its negative emotions, "It was just gut instinct."

 _ **'You have GOT to stop making that stupid joke,'**_ Kurama said from inside him.

Naruto grinned.

"Wh-wha- gut instinct!?" Rin sputtered, "How does that even make sense!?" She took a few breaths to calm herself, "Whatever, that doesn't matter for now. What matters is your stupid plan to have Archer stall Saber."

"I would hurry up if I were you," Archer said, the slightest hint of urgency in his voice, "Saber's rapidly catching up."

"Right," Rin said hurriedly, "What I mean is, what if Zouken just ordered the Shadow to chase you? If we leave Archer here, then Zouken may just change the order to attack Archer!"

"Then we'll bait him," Naruto said, "We'll have Archer engage Saber and we'll wait for the Shadow to catch up. We'll keep that thing chasing us by making Zouken think he can still get us. If, for some reason, the Shadow stops chasing us, Archer can easily sense it and decide to make his retreat."

Rin turned to her Servant, an unsure look in her eyes,

"Archer..."

Archer briefly glanced at her before fixing his gaze ahead again, "Rin, whatever you command, I will do. I will say this though, i truly do believe that this plan can help us escape."

Rin closed her eyes for a few seconds, before opening them to reveal aqua irises of resolution. They snapped to Archer,

"Retreat after five minutes."

Archer nodded before landing on a branch and halting. He descended to the forest floor and turned his back to them.

Naruto retreated a small ways away to the side and smoothly came to a stop himself. His heart pounded in his chest and his stomach felt as if it were tumbling around in a roller coaster. He clenched his fists slightly and peripherally noted that his hands were unusually cold and clammy.

Even though he was confident it would all work out, he still couldn't help but dread the appearance of Saber and the Shadow. If anything went wrong, they would all end up dying here. It was as simple as that.

"We're near the edge of the forest," Naruto whispered to Rin, "If we managed to gain enough distance between us and the Shadow, then we can blend in with the people in the city and force it to retreat."

The words 'run away' and 'blend in' were borderline excruciating for him to say, but, for now, he had no choice.

"No!" Rin hissed back, "If we do that, we'll put everyone there in danger!"

"I doubt that," Naruto responded, "Think about it, Zouken said that his Shadow needed large amounts of mana to survive, which is why he had it consume Saber. But he also said that he would have liked to have turned him into a REAL Assassin."

"So?"

"I don't know what he meant by turning him into a "real Assassin", but I DO know that he was forced to abandon his plans because he needed to feed the Shadow large amounts of mana. Thing is, with the amount of people in Fuyuki city, he could have easily gone on an indiscriminate rampage to suck up the magic of all the normal civilians. That probably would have been more than enough magic."

"I see... So you think that if didn't care about his Shadow being seen, then he would have just gone and sucked up all the magic he needs from the civilians in the city - especially since it seems like he had other plans for Assassin," Rin guessed.

Naruto nodded, "Exactly."

"...I don't know how much faith I can put in that speculation," Rin admitted reluctantly, "What if him not taking magic from civilians is just a final remnant of his morals?"

"He's not the type of person to easily give up what he wants," Naruto said confidently, "And what he wanted, was to do something to Assassin. He's definitely trying to hide the existence of the Shadow from the world."

Rin stayed silent, her doubts still showing on her face.

"Don't worry," Naruto reassured, "If it seems like it's about to attack the civilians, then we'll just draw its attention to us again. I definitely won't let it hurt any innocent people."

Rin sighed, "I suppose we don't really have a choice..."

Finally, Saber's form became visible from a distance, rapidly enlarging as she approached. She came to a stop on a branch a fair distance away from Archer. Even though her face and eyes were both blank, Naruto couldn't help but notice that rather than instantly attack, she had simply stared at Archer for a second, betraying her confusion at the trio's change in strategy.

As Saber too descended to the forest floor, a familiar feeling of despair and general hopelessness slowly wormed itself inside his very being, signifying the approaching Shadow.

"Get ready, it's coming," Naruto said to Rin, his voice hard.

"I know," Rin said a bit irritatedly, "I can feel it too."

Naruto tensed his muscles, but did not move yet. He had to wait until the Shadow was truly in visible range before taking off, otherwise, the risk of it chasing Archer instead was too high.

As if commanded through some sort of unseen signal, Saber rushed forward and tried to strike Archer with a left-to-right downward diagonal slash. Archer blocked the heavy blow, causing a loud CLANG to echo through the forest. They instantly disengaged before blurring into motion again; their blades clashing against each other repeatedly in a display of speed and skill that could barely be followed. The two fully bared their intent to kill, yet neither managed to score even a glancing blow so far.

Naruto's keen eyes noticed that while Saber generally just tried to out-perform her opponent, Archer fought in a much more nuanced manner. He let show false openings in his defense, and countered when his opponent took the bait.

Suddenly, the two Servants both retreated at the same time before Saber took the initiative and rushed in to strike Archer; once again, she fell for a false opening, and Archer snapped at her with Kanshou. Saber desperately dodged out of the way and struck the black short-sword with a particularly hard hit from a dangerous angle, completely snapping it from the middle.

Instantly, another Kanshou appeared in Archer's hands.

Naruto could almost taste Saber's hidden confusion as he chuckled.

He abruptly clamped down on his small display of amusement when he suddenly spotted the Shadow swiftly approaching. Without warning, he took off from Archer's position, making sure that he was first heading away from Archer from the side so as to make sure that the Shadow's trajectory would not have it colliding the Servant of the Bow.

The Shadow followed and Naruto smirked. Once he was sure that they were sufficiently far enough away from Archer, he changed his direction and headed towards the end of the forest.

Behind him, the Shadow tried its best to reach for the duo, however, Naruto once again proved to be too nimble for it - even with Rin in his arms; each tentacle reaching for him had been swiftly dodged and, in seconds, its tentacles couldn't even reach him any more.

Rin blinked as she noticed something, "The Shadow... its tentacles can expand even further than the distance we're away from it..."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "So?"

"You idiot! Don't you get it?" Rin said, "That means that even though its tentacles can expand long enough to reach us, it's still not able to get us!"

"Are you saying that it doesn't _want_ to get us?" Naruto asked, a tinge of apprehension in his voice.

Rin could understand his worry; if the Shadow wasn't truly trying to catch them, then that meant that Zouken had an unknown ulterior motive in mind for this chase.

Fortunately, Naruto was wrong.

"I would have thought the same if I was I your position, but, from what I can see, it's definitely trying to catch us. The true reason it can't get us even though it its tentacles can extend long enough, is because there's a negative correlation between its tentacles' _length_ and _speed!_ " She explained excitedly.

Naruto gave her a blank look, "...Huh?"

Rin sighed and explained dully, "The longer it extends its tentacles, the slower they get."

"Oh. Just say it like that then!"

Rin clicked her tongue disdainfully.

The Shadow's pursuing form gradually became smaller and smaller as Naruto continued to gain distance from it, until finally, it completely vanished into the darkness of the trees.

Another minute passed. Rin closed her eyes and called on her magical connection with Archer.

 _"Archer."_

 _'I know,'_ Archer responded into her mind, ' _I've already begun my retreat.'_

The trees were now starting to thin out and the ground was evening out. The white glow of streetlights shone obscurely through the leaves, and Naruto chased it with fervor. He shot out of the woods and landed neatly on the empty pavement.

"Mount Enzou is on the edge of Miyami town," Rin said calmly as she looked around at the deserted streets, "I'd forgotten that... we'll have to move deeper into the city if we want to blend in with people." She glanced at the slumbering buildings, "Maybe we can hide out in one of the homes..."

Naruto shook his head as he propped Rin on her feet, "Nah, that thing can sense me. Remember when I showed you and Archer that the Shadow was locked on to only me? When I moved away from Archer, the Shadow chased me, but it still wasn't in visible range at the time-"

"-Which means that it can find you even if you're hiding..." Rin said as she rubbed her chin.

Naruto nodded, "We should split up. That thing will keep chasing me, so you can escape now."

Rin narrowed her eyes, "And how do YOU intend to escape?"

Naruto shrugged, "I was kinda thinking of just running to the city..."

"Do you really think you're fast enough?" Rin asked, her tone scathing, "You may be good at maneuvering on trees, but that thing will probably catch up to you in no time on pavement."

"I think-"

"I have a better idea," Rin interrupted, "Pick me back up, and I'll constantly apply reinforcement sorcery to your legs. This is my repayment for saving me from crashing into that tree back there."

Naruto blinked. Then he gave her a grateful grin.

"Thanks!"

* * *

Reinforcement sorcery did not work as Naruto had expected. He thought he would gain a constant speed boost to his running, but instead, it worked more like chakra powered jumps. Rin would chant something complicated, and Naruto would shoot forwards like a bullet in his next step before the magic would wear off and he would have to regain his balance and cope with the speed with the power of his normal un-reinforced legs... and repeat for basically fifteen minutes.

It was extremely disorienting and annoying, but it worked. A fourty minute trip had been reduced to fifteen, and the Shadow hadn't even been able to show its presence to them.

Not nearly as exciting as their escape down mount Enzou.

Once the noise of chatter and footsteps reached their ears, Naruto put Rin down and they ran the rest of the way normally. They quietly slipped into the crowd before sighing a in relief.

A cursory glance told them that no one had noticed anything unusual about them. Although, there were a few wrinkled noses from the people around them - probably due to the smell of sweat clinging to them.

Naruto winced as he forced himself to walk with the crowd without showing his fatigue. If he hadn't seen his arms attached to his body with his own eyes, he would've thought that they didn't even exist anymore. Carrying Rin for more than fifteen minutes took a huge toll on them.

Rin leaned close and muttered into his ears as inconspicuously as she could, "What'll you do if Zouken threatens to hold everyone here hostage?"

Naruto took a few seconds to process the question before his his eyes widened in alarm.

Noticing this, Rin sighed, "Like I thought...you didn't even think of that possibility, did you? Even if he doesn't want his Shadow to be known by the world, you were the one who said that he isn't one to easily give up on what he wants."

A horrible pang of guilt tore at Naruto's stomach.

"I..."

"Don't worry, at the very least, he won't get you," Rin said solemnly.

Naruto shot her a brief questioning look.

"Because if he threatens to hold civilians hostage..." Rin said gravely, "Then I'll stun you with a Gandr shot to stop you from giving yourself up."

Naruto's head whipped at her, "Rin! You-"

Rin stealthily pointed her hand at him, knowing that he knew of the red curse she could produce from it, "Keep walking and don't make a scene." She ordered, "The Shadow must be chasing you for a reason, and I can't afford to give it and Zouken anything more that could further increase their chances of winning."

"So you're going to sacrifice civilians?" Naruto hissed.

Rin nodded grimly, "Yes."

"Rin, you were the one who was worrying about the civilians in the first place!" Naruto whispered desperately, a clear note of panic in his voice, "Why-"

"I would have preferred not to involve civilians, but in the end, I'm still a magus," Rin said coldly, "If sacrificing civilians serves me best, then that's what I'll do."

"But-"

"Shut it and keep walking," Rin ordered, "If you don't, then I'll just stun you now."

Naruto grit his teeth and took a shaky step forward, hoping beyond anything else that Zouken wouldn't hold innocent people hostage. He glared at his arms as if doings would scare away the exhaustion, allowing him to fight back against Rin.

 _'Damnit...'_

* * *

A few, tense minutes passed before a small sigh of relief from Rin greeted Naruto's ears.

"All right, his familiar's gone," Rin said, the tightness in her voice disappearing.

Naruto blinked, "You mean..."

Rin nodded with a grin on her face, "Yep, we've escaped!"

Naruto knew he should have been feeling jubilation, but all he felt was whiplash at Rin's sudden change in behavior.

A sudden, trembling rage invaded him, "Rin, you-"

"If you're about to yell something like, _'how could you even THINK about sacrificing innocent people!?'_ then don't bother," Rin said with an amused smirk, "I'll have you know that that was just an act to cover for your mistake."

The sudden anger left him just as suddenly and confusion took its place, leaving him standing there open-mouthed, "...Huh?

"I knew that Zouken's familiar was listening to us, so I acted as if I would stop you from going to him, even if he threatened innocent people, meaning he would have nothing to gain from such a course of action," Rin explained, "There's no such thing as holding back against innocent people in typical magus mentality, you know? If experimenting on an innocent person will help a magus achieve a breakthrough in their research, then that's exactly what they'll do. I bet on the fact that Zouken knew that, and made him believe that I'm the same."

Naruto stood still for a second before tension left his body and he laughed a tired laugh, "Y-you had me really scared for a second there, you know? I thought you were serious back there!"

Rin frowned, "Don't be so sure that I wasn't. I'm still a magus in the end; who knows what I would've actually done in that situation."

Naruto wasn't really sure what to say to that.

* * *

Different customs.

Different lifestyles.

Different rules.

Almost everything was different in this world, Naruto knew that. It had haunted him day after day after day. Of course, that also meant...

 _Different values._

How on earth could he have the right to tell Rin off when he himself had grown up in a completely different environment? How earth could he have the right to denounce an entire _world_ based on his own morals and ideals?

True, he had also grown up in this world, complete with a child's mind again, but he'd never truly _lived_ in this world, had he? He'd ignored everything, so what gave him a right to correct anything?

"Oi," Rin said, snapping him out of his thoughts, "Are you sure we're going the right way?"

Naruto recalled the map Caster had shown him and nodded, "Yeah, I think it's just ahead."

The streets around them were truly deserted by now, and the duo only had their footsteps to accompany them.

"Where's Dragcher?" Naruto asked.

"In Spirit form. Since I wasn't in Saber's sights anymore, all he had to do was gain a bit of distance and dematerialize to escape."

Naruto nodded.

The duo walked a for a few more minutes before they came across a dilapidated warehouse. It was only about large enough to fit the main building of the Emiya residence inside it, and looked to have been abandoned for quite some time.

The two walked up to the warehouse and Naruto was about to enter through the door when Rin stopped him.

"Wait, we need a plan first."

Naruto could feel the exhaustion shutting down his body and mental capabilities, and he honestly just wanted to get this over with now.

"It's a warehouse," Naruto said, "Not much we can plan for here. Just materialize Dragcher and we'll go."

Archer materialized and Naruto opened the door with almost zero hesitancy.

The inside of the warehouse was completely empty, except for the two people waiting for them. The floor was covered in a thick layer of dust and moonlight spilled from the cracked windows lining the walls.

Curiously, all Naruto could smell was lavender. Probably Caster's doing.

Yes, one of the people waiting for them was Caster, her cloak waving behind her as lazily as always, and the other was surprisingly the prim and proper Kuzuki-sensei.

Naruto blinked, "...Kuzuki-sensei?"

Kuzuki-sensei nodded in greeting, "Uzumaki."

Naruto sighed, "Sorry, but I don't have the energy to act all surprised right now."

Evidently Rin disagreed.

"Kuzuki-sensei, you were Caster's Master all along!?"

Caster raised an authoritative hand, "Enough." She turned to Naruto, "I'm surprised... you actually managed to escape from Zouken and his dog..."

"Yeah," Naruto said, "Let's just get onto the main point now; will you lend me your Noble Phantasm?"

Caster smirked, "...Very well."

Even in his exhausted state, Naruto couldn't help but grin and let out a small whoop in joy.

Finally, the Rule Breaker, the tool he needed to free Saber would be in his hands!

"However, if you truly intend to go up against Zouken's dog, then you must know something about it," Caster said seriously.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"'The Shadow', as you called it, it's true form is that of a person you know all too well," Caster said, "I believe her name is _Sakura Matou_."

Naruto wasn't exactly sure what he'd heard at first, but as he processed Caster's words, his vision started blurring, his stomach felt as if a jug of ice cubes had been dropped in there, and strange rushing sound overwhelmed his ears.

Vaguely, he heard the sound of surprised gasp beside him.

It felt as if two film were being played in front of his eyes, one of the Shadow, and one of Sakura. He tried to combine the film of the horrifying and petrifying Shadow whose very presence induced despair, and the film of the sweet and gentle Sakura whose very presence filled him with peace and familial affection; but he found that no matter what, the two films simply would not combine.

"Wh-what? How on earth...?"

He wanted to lash out and yell that she was lying, but every ounce of his logic protested.

What reason would she have to lie? After all, with Saber gone, Caster could easily take down the Shadow herself - especially now that Caster knew the Shadow's true nature. There was no reason for Caster to bait him into doing absolutely anything by telling him this, especially since she probably wanted her Noble Phantasm back.

Caster spoke, piercing his thoughts, "I have told you this because I have no doubt that the Makiri patriarch will reveal this to you at time most opportune to him. If that happened then I would no doubt lose my Noble Phantasm."

Through his fog of tumultuous emotions, Naruto locked onto a part of Caster's statement.

 _Noble Phantasm_

"...Will it work?" He also whispered his question. There was no need to elaborate, Caster had probably predicted his reaction already.

"Only if you stab the main body," Caster said, "Slashing at the created appendages won't allow the magic of the Rule Breaker to take effect, but if you stab the main body then the contract between her and the grail's taint will be broken."

"The grail's... taint?"

Caster nodded, "The grail's taint is the most important factor allowing her to take the form of 'the Shadow'."

"How... how does Zouken control Sakura?" Rin asked. Her voice strangely sounded extraordinarily weak for some reason.

Caster smirked a smirk which made Naruto want to punch her in the teeth, "Unfortunately for you, the Makiri patriarch's main body is a worm and he has attached it to the Matou girl's heart; this means, killing the Makiri patriarch also means killing the Matou girl.

A faint 'No' left Rin's lips as she stumbled back.

 _'What a bitch...'_ Kurama noted, _**'The only reason she told you brats anything was because she knew that there was nothing you could do.'**_

His words didn't make Naruto feel any better. But even so...

 _'Assuming she's telling the truth.'_

He had to believe that her words were a lie.

 ** _'Why would she lie?'_** Kurama asked, **_'She doesn't want to lose her Noble Phantasm, right?'_**

 _'Yeah... but that tidbit she told us about Zouken's main body being a worm and being attached to Sakura's heart won't affect my chances in defeating Sakura or Saber at all.'_

He blinked. He'd already called the Shadow 'Sakura' with no hesitation at all.

"Whatever the case," Caster said, bringing the conversation back on topic, "The first step is making the Geis which binds your usage of my Noble Phantasm, brat."

"Focus Rin," Archer said, "This is an extremely critical stage."

Rin gave her Servant a shaky nod and slapped her own cheeks a few times to regain her calm state of mind and concentration.

Naruto took a step back, this was Rin and Archer's territory now.

"First of all, the main points must obviously be..." He heard Rin say before he tuned them out. Rin would give him the summary later.

Instead he plopped down on the floor and looked up at the moon through a broken window.

The moon reflected images of the Shadow, Zouken, and the corrupted Saber back at him.

He slowly raised his arm up at the giant silvery orb shining in the sky, as if reaching for it...

 _Just you wait..._

And he clench his hand into a fist, as if he could grab it from here and extinguish its light.

* * *

 _ **Author's Note: So, uh, yeah. I finished this a lot later than I thought. I won't say much since I said everything I wanted to say in the 'I'm a What!?'s author's note, but basically, the gist of it is that I'm going to try to improve my pace from now on. No one should have to wait for four to five months just to read a chapter.**_

 _ **Moving on, I really think Caster could have done something about the Shadow in the VN if she'd simply gotten a chance to observe it even once, since, you know, she's a CASTER. That's why, I think Nasu made a very realistic and great decision to have Caster be defeated by the Shadow first in the Heavens Feel route.**_

 _ **Also, I don't know if Servants CAN actually lend Masters their Noble Phantasms, but I see no problems with it. Something like that happened in**_ ** _Apocrypha, right? I don't actually watch Apocrypha, but I think I read somewhere that a similar situation occurred._**

 ** _Anyway, Next Chapter: Direct confrontation!_**

 ** _P.S. We've almost broken through the 1000 barrier in Follows! Do you guys know how giddy that makes me feel!? All of you guys are so awesome (not just the people who favorite, follow, and review, but also the people who just simply decide to even read this story)!_**


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